Anything Is Possible
by Rocinante
Summary: The Ultimate Crossover Story. Part I of the Celler Series. Be sure to read the sequel, Life With Kim
1. William

  
  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kim Possible. And NO, my name is NOT William.

**1. William **

The shrill buzz of the clock radio alarm sliced through the dawn-lit solitude of the bedroom. William reached over, tapped the 'off' button, and sat up, reaching for his glasses. _5:30. Great. Another day, just like the day before, and the day before, and the day before that, _William thought._ Why should this one be any different? _At least it was a stable routine that could be counted on not to deal any adverse surprises.

William was a quiet, unassuming young man, barely 20. He was tall and fit, though not muscular. He kept his dark hair just touching his collar. Not a rock-star thick mane, but not Clark Kent, either. He had a small apartment in the center of town, and a stable job processing insurance claims in an office within walking distance. There was a grocer on the corner of his block. William rarely went anywhere else, so he had no real need of his own transportation. The bus could take him places his feet couldn't.

Life was quiet and stable for William, and there was really little if anything more that he wanted. Except for...somebody.

_Anybody._ William liked working in the office. The people weren't rude with him. They weren't teasing toward him. They weren't _anything_ with him. If not for his daily reports, William wouldn't exist to the others in the office. He wasn't a number, but he wasn't quite a name, either. And most of the time, William liked it that way. He was never good at making new friends, and even worse at maintaining friendships. He figured the only one who really needed to take notice of him was his supervisor - and she did. She would regularly mark William's reports with things like "A-1 as usual!" William knew he had that in his pocket - a job for as long as he wanted one. A job he could leave at night and know it would be there the next morning. That left him with one less thing to worry about - and more time for his other life.

Willaim's other life was a Sony 27" stereo TV. If he wasn't working or sleeping, he was spending time with his cathode ray "family" - "relatives" from this sitcom or that drama; the wise uncle who gave him the news each night; the patient aunt who would draw him in and fascinate him with documentary tales of sensationalism; the adventurous cousins and friends who would show him how they could leap from a moving car or juggle or play a sport. William's parents died some four years ago during a blizzard, when their car stalled. They were found in a snowdrift two days later, frozen solid. William lived and interacted semi-vicariously through the television. They were "family" that were there any time he wanted, and would leave him time to himself at the press of a button on the remote. No nagging, no asking for help or money - they were the only family he wanted or needed. And with 200 channels of cable, William had a big "family" to choose from.

William even had his "best girl" who would "visit" on the weekends. In his picture-tube "family," anyone could be anything to William. They were all "real" as long as they were coming from the box. William's "best girl" was in the form of a cartoon - a teen heroine named Kim Possible. He would make sure there was no one and nothing that could distract him during the times the show would air. Kim was athletic, popular, pretty and smart. To William, Kim had a "real" presence, even though she was, in reality, just a cartoon inside of the box. He would imagine that she had a "life" away from the show. It was almost as if she had invited him to the taping sessions of her latest episode - and every now and then, William would find himself mouthing one of Kim's catch phrases as she would say it; "So not the drama"; you....get a grip?"

Deep inside...through the layers of the chiffon facade...in the dark attic corner of William's mind...this is who he wanted to meet. This is the "someone" that was missing from his other life, the one in the small apartment, at office functions, at the grocer on Saturday mornings. William knew that his secret wish was to meet someone just like Kim Possible. And it was a secret that he could not expose, explain to or share with anyone. After all, no one else thought Kim Possible was anything more than a cartoon inside of the box. No one knew the rest of William's "family" - no one at all. And most of the time, William liked it that way. Most of the time.


	2. Reading is fundaMENTAL

2. Reading is FundaMENTAL ("There was an old woman who lived in the street...")  
  
William always looked forward to Wednesday nights. That was the night that he stopped at the grocery store on the way home and got a fresh hoagie sandwich and a large bottle of soda for dinner. Sometimes he would splurge and get a bag of chips or pretzels to go with it. Not tonight, though. On one of the info sites he visited frequently, they told of a release date for a couple of Kim Possible episodes that had been written into paperbacks. That release date was this Wednesday night. William had called the bookstore near his house during his lunch hour, and, after confirming that the books were in, had the clerk hold copies of each behind the desk until he could stop by after work.  
  
William walked three blocks past his apartment building to the downtown market square - a collection of stores occupying the first couple of floors of older office buildings in the downtown area - catering to a mix of patrons, from other professionals in the blocks to the east, where William worked, to the "tragically hip" - young "rebels" and other voluntary outcasts whose presence made parts of the market square take on the atmosphere of a '60's coffee house. Anywhere else, this clash of social elements would never coexist peacefully. But here, for some reason, the mesh was smooth - even if little more than "social courtesy." Nobody really interacted with anybody who wasn't in their "crowd." Nobody really bothered anybody. And most of the time, William liked it that way. No trying to "fit in." No searching for witty small talk. No quick-thinking quips. No awkward encounters with someone you might know, and trying to explain why you were buying books about a cartoon character.   
  
William arrived on the block where the bookstore was as the last light of the day was slipping away. Tiny snowflakes began to flit about, loyal to the weatherman's forcast of evening flurries. They danced under the streetlights as they moved in a gentle breeze, which seemed to announce the arrival of December. Fireflies of the Winter, thought William as he brushed away a flake which had stuck to one of the lenses of his glasses.  
  
William reached the bookstore, "Bound Dreams," in the middle of the block, and walked up the two steps to the door. The stoop had wooden railings, and almost looked like what one would find attached to the back door of a house. He pushed open the glass-and-wood-framed door, and a trio of small bells above jingled in three-part harmony.  
  
The store could be considered "cozy," compared with the typical large chain outlet one might find in a modern mall. The floor was bare hardwood. Your every footstep echoed through the entire store. Above, the ceiling was exposed. Pipes and ducting wound through large rafters, and above that, the boards for the second floor could be seen. Every wall was shelves, filled with books, both new and used, in various condition. On the floor were a series of small bookcases and butcher-block tables that had been converted into "bargain bins." Toward the back of the store was the cash register, and several worn-but-comfortable chairs where one could read "in house."   
  
William made his way past a couple of people poring over bargain books, and to the counter at the back of the store. He greeted the cashier. "Yes, you're holding a couple of books for William Hodge?"   
  
The cashier looked under the counter, and pulled out the two books. He glanced at the titles - then at William - holding his gaze a half a second longer than he probably should have - then rang the sale. "That's $8.46, with tax." He then slipped them inside a sack with "Bound Dreams" on it, and a winged unicorn with golden ropes around its neck and each of its legs.  
  
William, of course, ignored the look from the cashier. It was no concern of his what the cashier thought of him buying the books. He didn't even think of offering some lame excuse like, "They're for my niece." It was none of his business. The books didn't even have anything to do with this life anyway, William rationalized. They were for his "other" life. The one from inside the box. The one in which the cashier neither lived nor belonged - nor deserved access to.  
  
William held out a $5, three ones and two quarters, which the cashier exchanged for the sack. William refused the four cents change, pointing to the "take one or leave one" penny bin. He then turned and walked toward the door, stopping before he went outside, and sliding the books out of the sack to get his first look at them.   
  
The first, "Bueno Nacho," was a scene from the TV episode, with Kim holding up a burrito she had folded after becoming an employee of the Mexican restaurant. The other, "The New Ron," had a scene from that episode, with Ron showing off his new "Pleather" pants to Kim.   
  
William smiled in satisfaction. Sure, he had both of these episodes on tape. But the books, to William, were like reading a letter from your girlfriend when she wasn't there. He slid the books back into the sack, and opened the door, taking both steps on the stoop at once.  
  
*OOF*  
  
William didn't see the woman approaching from the right. Both people fell to the ground. William's glasses were knocked off in the collision, and he rolled to one side, reaching for them before someone trampled them underfoot. He then sat upright, looking for the sack, which was knocked out of his hand. He turned and came face to face with the woman he had collided with.  
  
She was a petite woman with smallish features, barely five feet if she was an inch. William was surprised that she could even knock him down. She looked to be in her early fifties, but judging from her clothes and general appearance, William guessed that she had been living on the streets for some time. She wore a blue stocking cap, under which peeked about three inches of bright, but stringy blonde hair. She also had an army surplus jacket, well-worn jeans, and tennis shoes that looked as if they had more days behind them than ahead.  
  
"Oh God, I'm so sorry," the woman exclaimed. William thought she sounded a bit like Kirstie Alley, her voice in that perpetual "crack" that reminded one of a slight case of laryngitis. She stood and offered her hand to help him up. "Ya hurt? I'm so sorry...ya came down those stairs like ya were in a hurry. I didn't have time to get out of your way. Are your clothes torn anywhere? I'm very sorry." From the very moment their eyes met, her gaze never left his, even while talking a mile a minute.  
  
William took a quick look over his clothes, and seeing no rips, reached for the woman's hand. Despite the nearly freezing temperatures, her touch was extremely warm. She grasped his hand firmly, put one shoe against his, and pulled him to his feet.   
  
The moment their hands met, her eyes narrowed. William began to feel a slight uneasiness, which he attributed to the fall. The woman began to brush the dirt from his long coat with her other hand, while still clasping his hand.  
  
"You just gotta be all right," she continued quickly. "That was all my fault, really, even though ya came out of the store so fast, I didn't see ya until it was too late. This is a nice coat ya got. I'm glad it's not tore anywhere."  
  
William only half-heard the woman's apology. He was looking around for the sack of books he had just bought. Then the woman said something which brought his full attention to her.  
  
"Isn't your name like...Will...or William? Yeah, William," she said. "I think I've seen ya come out of the Meridian Insurance Building a few blocks away. Quite a few times, in fact. You must work there or something." She then began to shake the hand she had such a close grip on. "Hiya William, I'm Angelica. Angelica Guardia. Are ya sure you're okay?"  
  
"I'm...I'm fine really, uhh, Angelica," said William. "Ummm, how did you know-- say, you haven't seen a small sack with a couple of books in it..."  
  
Angelica stopped brushing William's coat, and reached into her jacket, pulling out the sack. "They fell right into my lap after ya hit the deck. I put 'em in here to make sure nobody made off with 'em. Just can't tell about some of the people down here...y'know?"  
  
"Thanks....Angelica," stammered William, still rather surprised that the woman not only knew his name, but where he worked - and he had never laid eyes on her before in his life. He had never seen her near his office building.  
  
Angelica then peeked into the sack and her eyes widened. "Hey, Kim Possible. I've seen that one before. It's been on the TVs in the front window of the drug store down the block. Do ya like cartoons, William? Are ya a fan?"  
  
William began to think less and less that the uneasiness he was feeling was from the fall. In fact, he now remembered it starting the moment his hand met Angelica's. It was sort of like the feeling one would get when cresting the first hill of a new roller coaster ride - the apprehension of the coming rush, zooming downward, but at the same time, feeling safe from being strapped in. He looked from the sack to Angelica, and managed to utter, "Yes." He then started to ask again, "Listen, I don't remember ever seeing you before. How did you know my name, or where I work...."  
  
He was cut short by Angelica drawing close to him, and using his hand to pull him down closer to her, their noses nearly touching now. She said under her breath, "Ya ever seen or met a Celler, William?"  
  
He was taken aback. "A...what...?"  
  
"It's a good thing I ran into ya, William," Angelica cut in again. "Well, not run into ya. You know what I mean. Listen...when ya come back, bring a little something for me - say, $20?" She then reached into the breast pocket of her jacket, and pulled out a folded piece of paper which looked to be older than the two of them together. She opened William's right hand, which had been in what now seemed to be a much-too-long handshake, and placed the paper into it, curling his fingers around it and closing her hands over it tightly. "Ya come back with the $20, William - and I'll bet that your secret wish comes true."  
  
William now studied Angelica's face. This was becoming weirder by the moment. He figured that this was her ploy for money - perhaps for food - more likely for booze. But something else was inside, fighting those thoughts. "What secret wish are you talking about? How do you know I'm coming back? What day should I come back...if I'm coming back...and what time?"  
  
"Don't you worry, William," said Angelica. "Whatever day or time you make it, I'll be here. Right here at the bookstore, don't you worry." She then gave his hand a couple of pats, perhaps as reassurance for her strange claims. Angelica then released William's hand, and took a step back - her eyes still locked with his. Then she exclaimed, "Ohhhhh, William! I almost forgot! Something else you have to bring with you, with that $20, you know?" She stepped forward again, and brought him down by tugging on his hand, until their faces nearly touched. "...bring with that $20...the strong belief in your heart that," she looked around, then locked onto his eyes again. "...anything...anything is possible." Angelica then released William's hand and stepped back.  
  
William looked from Angelica for the first time in what felt like a half hour, even though less than ten minutes had elapsed since their collision. He looked at his closed hand. It was still warm from her holding it. He slowly opened it and looked at the folded piece of paper. He opened it, and his breath caught. It looked like something that had been painted eons ago, but there it was. A rendition that looked to be hastily sketched, and filled in with old crayons...but it was undeniably a rendition of Kim Possible.  
  
The mystery of the paper, on top of everything else, caused William to want to bring this whatever-it-was to an end. "Who are--" he raised his voice.  
  
Nobody was standing anywhere near William. He scanned the street in both directions. No blue stocking cap to be found. The sky was completely dark now, the winter's night settling its cloak over the city. The Fireflies of Winter still dancing under the streetlights.  
  
William just stood there, with no firm conclusions about what just happened. He noticed that his hand was now cold again, after the intense warmth of Angelica's touch. Then he noticed that his stomach was screaming at him. He looked at his watch. The grocery would close within the half hour, and he hadn't gotten his sandwich.  
  
William took another look at the paper, still trying to make something of the strange encounter with Angelica. He then stuffed it into the sack with the books, rolled the top closed, then set off at a dead run for the grocery store.  
  
  
To be continued... 


	3. Home Sweet Home

3. Home Sweet Home  
  
Wiliam unlocked the door to his apartment and stopped just inside, nudging the door closed with his foot. He felt out of breath, even though he hadn't run since he left the bookstore. He set down the sack with the books, and one from the grocery store, which contained a turkey and swiss sub and a bottle of Coke Classic. He then took off his coat, throwing it over the back of a chair, picked up the sacks, and went to the couch, laying back.  
  
William took another look at his clothes, rather suprised, but pleased that there were no tears after his tumble in front of the bookstore. There was hardly even any dirt on them. He then reached into the grocery sack, unwrapped half his sandwich, and took a bite. He was a bit more hungry than he thought, and wished he had gotten chips as well.   
  
He reached for the sack from the bookstore and spilled the contents onto his lap. The two new books - and the paper. William studied it again for a moment, and his thoughts flashed back to the encounter with Angelica. He searched his mind for any recollection of meeting or seeing a woman who looked like her. Nothing. He then thought about everything that Angelica had said to him...the quick and relentless pace of her voice...the unexplainable warmth of her hand...her inescapable stare. And how did she seem to know so much about him? He searched his memory again for any clue that he had met or seen her before. Again, nothing.   
  
Then William's thoughts turned to the paper itself. It almost felt like it was torn from an old grocery sack. It was as if it had been exposed to the elements for quite some time. The paper was supple to his touch, not crinkling as newer paper would. He smelled it, and got a strong odor of vanilla. William then remembered that Angelica smelled a bit like that, too - not the "normal" unwashed odor that one would expect from someone who had been living on the street. In fact, there was really nothing "dirty" about Angelica but her clothes. Her hands were smooth and her nails were well-kept, if unpainted. Her hair was clean, even if stringy.  
  
William continued to work on his sandwich while studying the image. It wasn't a high-quality rendition, but it was immediately recognizable as Kim. The odds didn't even fit a million-to-one shot that Angelica would just happen to have a drawing of Kim Possible in her pocket. It couldn't be that Angelica was trying to stalk William, he thought. No one knew about his "family" - the one inside of the box. He never told anyone about them, or anything about his "other" life.  
  
"It'll make an appropriate bookmark," William said to himself, folding the paper again, and picking up "Bueno Nacho." He didn't give much more thought to the encounter with Angelica - but it was more a case of not being able to form any logical conclusion or explanation, rather than just dismissing the bizarre meeting with a woman he had never seen before in his life, but who seemed to know more about him than a first meeting would present.   
  
William finished his sandwich. He fell asleep while reading the passage where Kim had bribed Rufus into doing her Nacho cheese duty for her..."Gooood little naked mole rat...."  
  
to be continued... 


	4. Thursday

  
  
**4. Thursday. **

William awoke slightly later than normal. He had slept the entire night on the couch. The moment he awoke, his first thought was to put his new books in the bookcase. He picked them up - one had fallen to the floor during the night, the other which he had been reading was still open on his chest. When he stood up, the paper fell to the floor. He picked it up and gave it another look. That and a dull soreness in his hip from the trip to the sidewalk was enough evidence for William that his encounter with Angelica wasn't just a dream. The only thing that really bothered William is that the evidence didn't give him any other answers about the encounter.

William went to work on this Thursday. He wasn't really there, but he showed up. His day's work showed his distraction. Late in the afternoon, he was called to the office of Marcy, his supervisor. She didn't call him in to berate him about his work - she called him in to ask if he was feeling all right. She said she had noticed him trundling around the office all day, and wondered if he was coming down with something.

William tried to assure her that he was okay. Marcy suggested that if he felt this way tomorrow, to go ahead and take a day off. In two years with the company, William had never called in sick. She said that they would try to muddle through somehow without his otherwise perfect reports - and that the level of his work more than made up for missing one day. William thanked Marcy, but refused the offer...and told her that he would be okay by Friday.

William finished the day and went home, curious as to his performance at work. Could the thing with Angelica be affecting him that much? He decided to search out comedy programs on the TV to try and lighten his mood. He went to bed earlier than usual that night, to try and catch up on good sleep - and to further boost his body's defenses against the continuing uneasiness that was in the back of his mind, and was starting to affect him on a physical level. He went to sleep figuring that if he didn't feel better tomorrow, he would give his doctor a call.


	5. Thanks, Marcy

**5. Thanks, Marcy **

Friday. The Bell Lap of the work week. The last door the student opens before bursting outside the school , free.

William reached over and tapped his alarm, sat up, and reached for his glasses. The first thing he noticed was that the uneasiness he had felt ever since meeting Angelica - was gone. Nothing now but his normal morning hunger. He touched his hip. The dull soreness was gone, and it was barely tender to the touch. Chalk one up for the proverbial "they," William thought to himself. Time really does seem to heal all wounds. He stood up, stretched, and went to the shower.

William even felt well enough to deviate from his usual breakfast of a couple pieces of toast, adding two eggs, sunny-side-up, and some oatmeal. He stopped at the mirror on the wall next to his front door, checking his hair and tie one last time while putting on his long coat, and stepping out for the walk to work.

The morning went quickly for William. He was working to correct any mistakes he had made the day before, and everything appeared to be meshing seamlessly. I might even be able to get out of here early, he thought. Marcy wasn't in the office today, and that was a mixed blessing for William. On the upside, there would be no one asking about his health or suggesting he take a day off. On the other side, there was also no one else at the office who would notice and compliment his work. Marcy was the only one in his department who even noticed his work. And most of the time, William liked it that way. Most of the time.

In the mid-afternoon, a soft metallic click interrupted the flow of light music from the overhead speakers. An announcement was being made. Everyone cocked a subconscious ear while they worked.

:::The Meridian Company, in its long-standing policy of promoting from within, is pleased to announce that the Supervisor of Claims and Reconciliation, Marcy Alvarez, in recognition of her dedication and hard work, has been promoted to be the newest member of the Board of Regents for the Meridian East Division. A party to celebrate Miss Alvarez's acheivement will be held this evening at the Shoreside Hilton ballroom. This is by invitation only for employees of the Claims and Reconciliation Department, so check your mailbox on the way out. In further celebration, the Claims and Reconciliation Department will be closing two hours early today. Miss Alvarez extends her thanks to all the people she's worked with in the department for their hard work and support.:::

William smiled. Marcy worked tirelessly in the department for the entire time he'd been there, and she had depended on him more than once to help her get the job done, often asking him to do research on the side for projects, and even calling him at home to help her complete a report or look something up. He felt good that his work made that kind of difference, even if behind the scenes.

Three O'clock came, and everyone was closing down their workstations and gathering their coats. A low buzz hummed throughout the office with people talking about Marcy's promotion and how if anyone deserved that kind of advancement, it was her. William made his way down the hall to the grid of cubbyholes that served as mailboxes for the department. They held varied amounts of paper and notes. It was basically the way employees communicated with each other, since corporate email was not allowed for personal business.

Each of the cubbyholes also held a light blue envelope with the words "To A Valued Employee and Guest" across the front in frilly script. William reached for his mailbox. No envelope. He pulled out a small stack of papers and reports, and flipped through them. No envelope. "I hope the people in the mail room never wonder why they only make $7 an hour," William muttered to himself, and started further down the hall to the mail room.

William tapped a tiny bell that was on the shelf of the half-door. A perky boy, no more than 18, came out from between two stacks of boxes. "Do you have the mailing list for the Hilton party handy?" asked William. The boy rifled through a stack of papers in a tray on his desk. "Here ya go," he replied. "Don't take that anywhere, it's mail room property."

William nodded, half-acknowledgingly, half-appeasingly. He flipped through a couple of pages to the H's. Harrington...Harris...Healy...Hennings...Hickman...Hoagland.

Hollingsworth.

He looked on the last page, where names were sometimes listed that weren't included in the initial alpahbetization.

Young.

William put the list on the door shelf, put on his coat - and started the long walk home.

to be continued...


	6. Tea for One ?

**6. Tea for One (?) **

William sat on his couch, still wearing his coat, his chin resting on his fisted hands, going over and over in his mind looking for anything he might have done to cause his not being on the invite list for Marcy's party. He couldn't wrap his mind around the concept that she would exclude him on purpose - they worked so well together, and Marcy depended on him to go the extra mile when she needed it. Unless... Marcy did suggest he stay home on Friday. Did she want him not at work, so he wouldn't hear the announcement and about the party? Even at that, he couldn't form a valid reason for her doing something like that. He just didn't see Marcy as the type who would step on people on the way up the ladder.

William moped around the apartment. He ate a piece of toast, not that he was the least bit hungry, but he thought it might take his mind from this dilemma, at least for the few moments it took to prepare it. He then returned to the couch and looked at his watch. 6:26. He picked the remote up from the table and clicked the TV on. The screen immediately flashed to scenes from The Proud Family. "Stick around - The Proud Family will be back to par-tay with you all night!"

William turned to the online channel guide. Disney was showing a marathon of Proud Family episodes until 3 AM. "Sure...why not?" William sighed at the box. "Everybody else has, today." So much for escaping with his "best girl" for even a half-hour. He turned to a local cable access channel that played mostly music from local bands, laid back on the couch, still wearing his coat, put his arm across his eyes...and fell asleep.

It was well after 10:30 when William awoke. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. On the television, a woman was talking about an upcoming holiday program in the market square. Carolers from an elementary school. :::After the commercial, we'll be talking with Matt and Shaniqua, two fourth-graders who will be singing in the Light of Voices program. Maybe we can even get them to sing a little something for us here!:::

William thought about finally taking off his coat, but couldn't bring himself to find the energy to get up. A commercial came on about car insurance. William stood up and went into the kitchen, putting some water on the stove to make some pekoe tea. He walked back into the living room and slipped off his coat, laying it across the chair next to his bookcase. Another commercial came on.

:::You have fantasies. You have dreams. We can help. At Bound Dreams, we have a wide selection of fiction, science fiction, anime and more. Books, cards, role-playing games...you wish it - we can grant it. Conveniently located downtown, in the Brookings Market Square.::: William looked at the TV, and the familiar logo of the winged unicorn came on the screen. :::Come to Bound Dreams...and give your wishes wings. Open late for insomniacs.:::

William remembered the cashier who gave him the strange look when he picked up the books Wednesday. "Yeah, they cater to dreams, alright," he chuckled to himself.

The teapot started to whimper, then whistle at full song. _I guess this is where I curl up with a good book,_ William thought. He slid "Bueno Nacho" from the shelf, and tossed it onto a cushion of the couch on his way to tend to the screaming teapot. He took a large earthware cup from the mug tree, slipped in a teabag, and poured the water. He laid the plastic lid from a coffee can over the cup. Marcy had once told him that covering the tea while it steeped would retain more of the flavor.

Marcy.

William took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

He slid the sugar tin next to the cup from the back of the counter and opened a drawer, taking a spoon and setting it next to the tin. Four minutes to tea.

William returned to the living room and plopped onto the couch. The book bounced when he landed, and slid off the edge of the cushion onto the floor. William picked the book up by the back cover, and the paper slipped out, open slightly. He picked it up to put it on the arm of the couch while he read. His thumb was on the fold of the paper, and when he brought it up, it was fully open to reveal the image that seemed to have been done so long ago.

Angelica.

William's thoughts raced back to the encounter with the slightly strange woman in front of the bookstore. The uneasiness he first felt that night began to return. He had almost forgotten about her...her voice, her actions, the uncanny warmth of her hand...

William continued to recall the meeting with Angelica as he returned to the kitchen to fix his tea. He dipped the teabag a few times before placing it on the coffee can lid next to the sink. He then added one spoonful of sugar, swirled a few times, and tapped the spoon lightly on the rim of the cup, placing it on the lid next to the teabag.

William took a sip. He wondered if Angelica drank tea. He wondered if she could even get tea, living on the streets like she seemed to. He wondered if Angelica had a family, and if she did, if she kept in touch with that family. He wondered if she had a daughter his age...or perhaps someone she stayed with during inclement weather. Someone she could introduce him to.

William walked back into the living room, setting the cup of tea on the table next to the couch. He stood there for a moment. Most of the time, William was at home in his apartment, with no one to talk to. No one who wasn't inside the box, that is. And most of the time, William liked it that way. Most of the time. Tonight wasn't part of that time. He just needed someone to interact with tonight. He walked over and put on his coat.

William remembered that Angelica asked he bring $20 with him when he met her again. He reached into his pocket - yep. He remembered asking her what night or time he might meet her there, and her answer echoed in his mind..."Don't you worry, William...whatever day or time you make it, I'll be here. Right here at the bookstore, don't you worry." Even just for tonight, he could talk with Angelica. He could invite her back for tea and a warm place to sit for a couple of hours. He could gain more of her trust, so that she might tell him about someone he could spend time with.

He grabbed the knob, and opened the door. _Heck, anything is possible,_ William thought to himself as he took a step out the door.

That step - and that phrase - froze him solid. William then remembered the other thing Angelica asked that he bring with him.

William stepped out the door and walked in the direction of the market square at a brisk pace.

to be continued...


	7. It's The Thought That Mystifies

**7. It's The Thought That Mystifies (The Gift That Keeps On Receiving...) **

It was well after 11:00 when William got to the market square. The only things open were the bookstore, and a small cafe/coffee house. William began to walk down the block slowly, scanning the few people still in the square, looking for Angelica's blue stocking cap. He arrived at the bookstore, and looked in the windows. No sign of Angelica. He went inside, thinking she might be in one of the reading chairs in the back of the store. No such luck.

William let his fingers trail across the books in the bargain bins as he left the store. As he opened the door, he gave a second's thought to rushing down the stairs as he did when he first encountered Angelica. Then he gave a "pfffft," and scanned the street from the top of the stoop. Still no sign of the woman he had collided with on Wednesday. William walked down the two steps, looking both ways.

William took a few steps down the sidewalk on either side of the bookstore, looking between buildings and cars. His hope of seeing Angelica again - tonight - or ever - were beginning to slip. He threw his hands up and let them slap against his sides, starting to try to rationalize again why he was in the middle of a market after 11 PM, looking for a strange - and now becoming mysterious - homeless woman. William gave another thought to going back into the store to look again. He placed one foot on the first step - then backed down. He scanned the street again. No blue stocking cap. No Angelica. Anticipation was quickly turning into annoyance.

William stepped up to the trash barrel next to the stoop of the bookstore and grasped the handle on the lid. He hesitated for a few pregnant seconds in a form of self-entertainment - then whipped the lid off, lifting it high in the air in an "a-HA!" motion. Nothing in the barrel but plastic shopping bags with the Bound Dreams logo, and those from other stores in the square, and some shredded papers.

"What are ya looking in THERE for?? I'm not THAT desperate!"

William slammed the lid back onto the barrel and spun around.

Angelica.

Angelica was standing there, seemingly out of nowhere. He had just looked up and down the street mere seconds ago. The same blue stocking cap, the same army surplus jacket...the same worn and faded jeans...the same 100,000-mile tennis shoes. She was giggling softly through the wide smile on her face, which curously enough, revealed nearly perfect teeth. Her hand was extended, waiting to take his.

William gave just the briefest pause, remembering the uneasiness he felt from the last time he had taken the woman's hand - then brushed his hand on his coat and extended it to meet hers. She gripped it firmly with both hands - more of a handhold than a handshake. He immediately felt the same warmth he had before - and the uneasiness began again as well.

"Ya made it! Ya came back!" beamed Angelica, and she stepped forward, moving her left hand from his to around his back, embracing him. It seemed like her entire body was a heater. "I knew ya'd make it. Ya just didn't seem like the kinda person to let someone down, William, and ya didn't. The only thing I was worried about is that maybe ya wouldn't come back before Sunday. But ya did!" She then took a half-step back, still holding onto his hand.

"Why...what's Sunday?" asked William.

"It's the day after Saturday and the day before Monday," Angelica replied, trying to sound worldly. Then she snickered and gave William's hand a squeeze. "But this Sunday is the first night of the new moon. And ya gotta remember that."

"...okay," William replied, looking up at the thin crescent in the night sky, midway between the horizon and the zenith. He slipped his hand from Angelica's, and into his front pocket. "Listen...Angelica...I brought what you asked me last Wednesday to bring." He brought his hand from his pocket, holding a twice-folded $20 bill and slowly extended it to the woman. "And I was just wondering--"

Angelica's eyes got wide, and she began to speak faster in her Kirstie-Alley-esque voice. "Ohhh, William! Ya came through! I knew it! I knew ya'd come through! Kathy said ya wouldn't. Misty said ya wouldn't even show! But ya did, ya did! It's just like I said, and I told 'em - ya didn't seem like the kinda person to let someone down, and ya didn't! Oh thank ya, William!" Angelica slipped her first two fingers on either side of the bill while she said this, sliding it into the front upper pocket of her jacket.

"You're welcome," said William. "Kathy? Misty?"

"Friends of mine. Non-believers, if ya will. Oh, but I believed, William. I believed from the first time I saw ya."

William still couldn't figure out when _that_ was. The first time he'd ever seen Angelica was Wednesday in front of the bookstore - or rather, hadn't seen, since they collided. "Angelica," he started again, "I also came back to ask you something--"

"Ooooo William, wait!" she interrupted. Then she took his hand again, and pulled him down closer to her level until their noses were nearly touching, as she had done on Wednesday. "Remember, I asked ya to bring _two_ things when ya came back. Did ya bring _everything_ I asked ya to bring?"

William brought up his free hand, and patted his palm on his chest. "The....?"

"Yeah. Did ya?"

Now William tried to sound worldly. "I did. I did indeed, good woman, just as you requested." He smiled into Angelica's eyes. _I just might be winning her trust,_ he thought.

"I knew ya would," continued Angelica. "That's the most important part, ya know. More important that the money, even."

Angelica then let William stand up straight. Her voice became softer as she spoke. "William...you've been so kind to me. When I knocked you down, you didn't yell at me, you didn't swing at me or anything. Some people would, you know. I'm like 'street people' to them...you know? But not you, William. I knew that, though...from the first time I saw you. And because of that, William...because of that, and because," she patted her chest in the same manner William had his own, "you know...because of all that - I have something for you now."

Angelica reached into her jacket. "Angelica, you don't really have to--" William started.

"Oh yes I do," Angelica stopped him. "I do, because this is for you, and nobody else. Nobody else." She first produced a piece of paper which looked like it had been torn from a notebook and folded twice. "Here's the rules," she said. "Don't read 'em yet until you get all the stuff."

Angelica then pulled from her jacket and handed him a small black velvet box, the type that a watch or bracelet might come in. It was wrapped twice with a gold string which glittered, and tied at the top in the same way that one would tie a shoelace. Next she gave him a small white candle, which William sniffed, and he once again caught the strong scent of vanilla. She then gave him a tightly-rolled piece of paper - the same kind of paper the drawing was on. It was also wrapped with the same kind of gold string, and tied with the same shoelace bow.

William looked at the items. "Angelica...this is nice, thank you...but what--"

"NOW read the rules," Angelica cut in. "Read 'em aloud, so's I know ya can read my writing. Everything has to be understood, William. If ya break even one of the rules, the rest doesn't mean diddly."

William opened the piece of notebook paper. It was written in a neat and full cursive script. It almost looked like something from a penmanship manual or from a laser printer. He began to read aloud:

"THE RULES!

Until the first night of the next new moon (which is Sunday night):  
DO NOT open the box.  
DO NOT uwrap the box.  
DO NOT unwrap the scroll.  
DO NOT light the candle.

On the night of the new moon, a few minutes before midnight:  
Take a full-length mirror into a quiet room. Then turn off all the lights. Close the door. Make sure there is no outside light in the room.  
Light the candle.  
Unwrap and open the box. DO NOT open what is in the box. Place what is in the box in front of the mirror. Make sure you can see the reflection of it in the mirror.  
Clear your mind and heart of EVERYTHING EXCEPT: the mirror...the candle...the scroll...and what is in the box.  
Just before midnight - unwrap the scroll.  
At exactly midnight - open the scroll and read it aloud. Read EXACTLY what is on the scroll, from beginning to end - don't leave out anything. Say the words with all that is in your heart. Speak NOTHING ELSE aloud but what is on the scroll."

"That's it, William," said Angelica. "Ya got it all. I'm glad ya could read my writing...it's not what it used to be."

"It's written very clearly," William replied, giving the paper another look, then folding it and putting it into his shirt pocket. He wondered what her 'good' handwriting was like, if this was 'not what it used to be.' He then looked back to her. "Angelica...what happens if I do all this?"

Angelica beamed a wide smile again, and looked at the items she had given him. She then brought her head up, and pointed upward.

William followed her finger. She was pointing to the sign on the bookstore - the winged unicorn.

William then remembered, in the midst of all the giving and the rules and all else, he still hadn't asked Angelica if she would like to come back for tea. He wondered what Kathy and Misty were like. He turned back to Angelica. "Listen, would you--"

She was gone. The same way she came. Poof. From out of and back into nowhere. William scanned both ways quickly. No Angelica.

William stood there for a moment, trying to take in everything that had just happened. Just like last time, and still since their first meeting, he had no clear answers about the mysterious woman.

William then looked at his watch. It was nearly 1 AM. He suddenly realized that there was nearly no one left in the square, let alone Angelica - and that he was in the middle of downtown, alone, in the middle of the night. He put the things Angelica had given him into the inside pockets of his long coat, and started the walk for home.

to be continued...


	8. Deliberations of THe Mind's Jury

**8. Deliberations of The Mind's Jury ("Thanks, Kim.") **

_Friday night._  
William opened the door to his apartment and entered. He closed the door and leaned back against it. He was out of breath, just like his last trip to the bookstore. But this time there was also an anxiousness - as if he was carrying some sort of contraband. He stood there until the thudding of his heart in his chest settled a little. Between that and the uneasiness in his stomach that started again at the second encounter with Angelica, William thought that he now had a small insight into what a heart attack must feel like.

After what seemed like a half hour, William felt as though he could move again. He sat down in front of the couch and emptied his pockets, placing the items on the floor in front of him, in the order which Angelica had given them to him. He unfolded the piece of notebook paper and spread it out on the carpet. To its right, the black velvet box...the white candle...and the scroll. He then clasped his hands together, his chin resting on his thumbs, his index fingers extended, gently tapping his lips, the rest of his fingers interlocked, his elbows on his knees, his legs crossed indian-style.

William read "The Rules" over and over again.

_"Clear your mind and heart of __EVERYTHING EXCEPT:__" _

"She must be kidding," William said aloud. With all the mystery Angelica surrounded the items with when she gave them to him, she had to be certain that now nothing else was occupying his mind. He tried everything to rationalize this as just her form of pomp and dramatics to present him with an inexpensive bottle of cologne or some other trinket. For all he knew, the "scroll" might be nothing more than a letter of infatuation. No matter what he tried to apply to brush away the mystery, one thing that Angelica told him continued to break in and smash his logic:

_"If ya break even one of the rules, the rest doesn't mean diddly."_

William continued to look back and forth slowly over the items. Everything was very clean, as if it had just been purchased. This further clouded the "street person" concept of Angelica. The only thing "street" about her were her clothes. So it was with the items. No dirt on anything. The only thing that looked "worn" was the scroll - the same sort of worn as the paper with the image of Kim Possible that Angelica had given him on Wednesday. The paper with The Rules looked as if it had been hastily ripped from a three-ring binder - but other than that... It looked as if Angelica had only folded it for the first time before presenting it to William. The penmanship was impeccable. A "street person" most likely wouldn't have access to a desk or table to sit at, with the proper posture to be able to write this perfectly. The ends of the string used to tie the box and the scroll were cut neatly - not like they were broken by pulling the string apart. The candle didn't have a mark or scratch anywhere on the wax. It was almost as if no one had handled it before he picked it up.

William wanted to curse Angelica for being so mysterious.  
William wanted to unrwap the box.  
William wanted to open the box.  
William wanted to unwrap the scroll.  
William wanted to light the candle.  
William wanted to _EAT _The Rules.

The rising sun began to peek from behind the building across the street. William decided that eating breakfast sounded better than eating The Rules - and then at least some sleep. He couldn't tell if the feeling in his stomach was just hunger - or the continuing uneasy feeling he'd had since Wednesday - or the beginning of an ulcer. An ulcer at 20. Lovely. If it was an ulcer, he wouldn't know whether to thank Marcy or Angelica.

William took in a long breath and let it out slowly through puffed cheeks. He stood up, removed his coat and threw it over the chair, and went into the kitchen. After making cereal and toast, Wiliam returned to the living room to eat, still looking at the items lined up on the floor. He then placed the cereal bowl on the table next to the couch, and laid down. He was still looking the items over when sleep finally overtook him a bit before 9.

_Saturday night._  
William awoke shortly before 6 in the evening. His eyes opened to the items on the floor as his first image. He didn't even bother to entertain the cliche "It wasn't just a dream" thought.

William wondered if sleeping during the day would affect work, and vowed to sleep more tonight to get back on schedule. He switched on the TV to the local news. The first story was about the event at the Shoreside Hilton friday night, and a short piece on the new member of the Board of Regents at Meridian Insurance.

Marcy.

William had actually forgotten all about the party to celebrate Marcy's achievement. _I had my own little party,_ he rationalized. He gathered the items from the floor and placed them on the table next to the couch, in the same order. He then took the cereal bowl and went into the kitchen, taking a hamburger patty from the freezer and sliding it into a skillet.

William checked the online cable guide to make sure there wasn't another Proud Family marathon, and flipped to the Disney channel for this evening's episode of Kim Possible. Tonight she was to battle "The world's most dangerous golfer." while simultaneously trying to deal with a takeover of the cheerleading squad by Bonnie. In his "other" life, William would ask Wade about Angelica, and what meaning there could be to the items she gave him and the mystery she shrouded them in. No such luck here. The local college campus might hold some answers, through the forensics lab - but it was Saturday evening, and the college would be closed until Monday morning - after the Sunday night deadline spelled out in The Rules.

There it was again. The out-of-nowhere rationalization in William's mind that there might actually be some truth to The Rules. _"If ya break even one of the rules, the rest doesn't mean diddly." _

William took advantage of the commercial to turn his hamburger and get a bun out of the breadbox, putting it on a paper plate and adding some lettuce and a slice of tomato from the fridge. He peeked around the corner at the TV, and the commercial for the bookstore was on again. :::Come to Bound Dreams...and give your wishes wings....:::

"Or a blue stocking cap?" said William. He then gave a "pfffft" and returned to the stove, stabbing his hamburger with a fork and sliding it onto the bun. He threw the fork into the sink, retrieved a bottle of Coke Classic from the fridge, and returned to the couch to watch the rest of the Kim Possible episode. He glanced once more at the items laid out on the table, then turned his attention to the TV, just as Kim had pointed out to Duff Killagan that his "super grass" had dandelions:

:::See every one of these little cottony things? They're seeds - every one of them.:::

:::Aye....so?:::

:::So _make a wish..._:::

This stopped William right in the middle of taking a bite of his hamburger. "Et Tu, Kim?" he said at the screen in a low voice. He slapped the half-eaten burger down onto the plate and the plate onto the table.

William lay back on the couch just as Kim uttered the line in the episode:

:::You know? Suddenly...I couldn't be happier for you.:::

William looked at the screen. "Thanks, Kim," he muttered in a half-sarcastic tone, and clicked the "off" switch on the remote. William rolled over on the couch, facing away from the TV...and fell asleep just after 7.

to be continued...


	9. Sunday!  Sunday!  Sunday!

  
  
**9. Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!**

The morning silence of the apartment was broken by the electronic scream of the phone. William shocked out of his sleep, nearly falling off of the couch, and made his way to the wall next to the kitchen to pick it up.

"Hello?" he said, still not fully functional, his arm on the wall, his head against it. He glanced at the clock on the stove. 9:10 AM.

"Wiliam Hodge, please."

"This is."

"William, this is David Morris at Meridian. How are you? Did I wake you?"

William didn't recognize the voice, but had heard the name in the office. David had been in the Sales department, and was one of the better agents. Many of the claims and new policies to be processed into the system had David as the contact agent. "Nnno," he slurred. "I had to get up to answer the phone anyway."

"William, I called to tell you that I've been appointed the new head of Claims and Reconciliation. I know how Marcy Alvarez ran the department as a tight ship, and I want to do everything I can to continue that. She had told me at the party that she worked the closest with you."

_Apparently not close enough,_ thought William. Not close enough for Marcy to remember to make sure he had an invitation to her party. "Yes, that's true." he replied. "Congratulations."

"Thanks. Marcy had briefed me on the procedures of the department, and I'm sure the workers will be okay on their own until I get up to speed. She told me that you worked as a sort of liason in addition to your regular duties. I could sure use someone like that to help me with the initial workload until things are settled, and to let me know about any nuances that keep the department running as well as it has up to now. We're going to have a short 'get to know me' session about 8:30. If you could stop by my office after that, we'll set up a time during the week to sit down and discuss this in more detail."

"Sounds good to me."

"All right William," said David. "I'm looking forward to meeting you tomorrow, and working with you in the future. I'll let you go now though. You sound like you're dragging a bit."

"It's been a long weekend," William said, telling the absolute truth.

"Okay," chuckled David. "Nothing too rough, I hope. I missed you at the party on Friday night. We could have met then, but it'll keep until tomorrow. Rest well, William." _click_.

_Grrr. _

William hung up the phone, slipped his glasses up onto his forehead so he could wipe the sleep from his eyes, and headed for the bathroom for a shower and shave. He didn't get to the store yesterday for his weekly grocery trip. In fact, he hadn't gotten much of anything done this weekend, having slept 27 of the last 39 hours. William didn't look that good, having not showered or shaved since Thursday morning. It was nearly appropriate, given his mood over the last few days - and the way he felt since meeting Angelica - but he had to get back into "work mode," and make a good impression on his new supervisor. He hoped that David was someone he could mesh with quickly, and keep the flow of his job as steady as when Marcy was there. He gave another thought to calling his doctor tomorrow.

When he came out, he went to his bedroom for fresh clothes. He changed into a dark blue t-shirt and some jeans. He stood to buckle his belt, then walked to the dresser for a brush, swinging the door closed to use the mirror.

_"Take a full-length mirror into a quiet room." _

William had brushed his hair for about 10 seconds before he realized he was standing before the full-length mirror on the back of his now-closed bedroom door. He studied his appearance for a moment, looking himself over from head to toe. Then he studied the mirror itself. William noticed that the bottom of the mirror was at least a foot from the bottom of the door. Unless he were standing very close to the mirror, he thought, he wouldn't be able to see the reflection of anything he put on the floor in front of it--

The uneasiness in his stomach made itself known again at that thought. "What hath Angelica wrought?" he said, rubbing his stomach. He tried to dismiss it again as morning hunger, making a couple pieces of toast and setting off for the corner grocery about 10:30. He was a good hour in the store, spending extra time to restock his toiletries, and mulling over the pharmacy shelves for something to soothe his stomach. Wiliam borrowed a cart from the store, as he had five sacks to carry. He set the sacks on the floor of his kitchen and went to return the cart. It was after noon when he got back.

William sorted the groceries and put them away. There was a sale on eggs. He picked up the toiletries he had bought - shaving cream, disposable razors, toilet paper and hair gel, and headed for the closet in the bathroom. Once that was done, he did a little cleaning in the bathroom, paying special attention to the shower and the glass items - the window and the mirror.

In fact, William set about cleaning everything made of glass in his apartment. His TV...the doors to his stereo cabinet...even the lens of the peephole on his front door. He cleaned every window in his apartment until they almost appeared as if they weren't there. He then went to work on the mirror on his bedroom door, starting first with vinegar and a razor blade, scraping even the smallest specks from next to the frame. He had spent over an hour cleaning the mirror, stopping once as the scream of sirens raced past his apartment building.

William then went to the hall closet and got the vacuum cleaner. He cleaned under and around the furniture, making special effort on the floor in front of the couch - and the couch itself. It was as if he was trying to cleanse this weekend away.

William wiped his brow and looked at the clock on his stereo. 5:13 PM. Now he knew that the uneasiness in his stomach was from hunger. He put away the vacuum cleaner and went into the kitchen, preparing pasta with white sauce he had picked out at the store, and some broccoli. He mixed a can of mushrooms into the pasta, fixed a plate, and sat at the small half-wall breakfast nook to eat. William ate each bite thoughtfully, trying to focus on his meeting with David Morris. He slid a notepad over while he ate, and jotted a few notes on what he wanted to discuss with David. He didn't want to leave out any of the nuances of the schedule he and Marcy used to maximize the department's efficiency.

William finished dinner and did the dishes, putting the leftovers into bowls and into the fridge. He walked into the living room and sat on the couch, noting the time again. 7:02 PM. He had missed that night's episode of Kim Possible. He checked the online cable guide. It was "Crush" - the very first episode of the series, in which Kim tries to stop Dr. Drakken, who had stolen an automated assembly line and turned it into a giant robot. William had this episode on tape, and had watched it several times.

He turned to a local channel to catch up on the news.

:::--afternoon. Witnesses say the driver lost control of his vehicle and skidded up onto the sidewalk hitting three people, killing one and critically injuring another. The third was treated and released. Police have confirmed that the driver was under the influence of alcohol, registering 1.6 on a breathalyzer test. We really don't have any other details at this time. Michael?:::

_That must have been the sirens,_ William thought, yawning. _Tired? After all the sleep this weekend? Well, it was a productive day,_ he thought. _Maybe just a little nap._ He settled back onto the couch...and fell asleep. It was 7:14 PM.

William stirred awake slowly. He stretched, and thought about going to bed for real, as tomorrow would most likely be a full day, demanding more attention than usual. He picked up the remote to turn off the TV:

:::--has been charged with driving under the influence, and one count of motor vehicle homocide. Police have identified the person killed in the accident as 43-year old Angelica Guardia, of 1452 Dorchester Lane. The critically injured victim is 29-year old Bob Douglas, of 5681 Mason Street. The person who was treated and released has asked to re--:::

Angelica.

William brought his thumb down hard on the "off" button, leaving it there for a few seconds and lifting it slowly. He kept staring at the dark screen, trying to digest what he had heard. He suddenly felt a little empty. The strange little woman whom he had only met twice, yet seemingly knew much about him - was gone. The woman who had turned the last few days of his life into a whirlwind of events without explanation - was gone. The woman of such vibrant expression...of such mystery--

William looked over at the items on the table...the box...the candle...the scroll...and The Rules. A wish for him from a woman of pomp and dramatics - what could be thought of now as a dying wish from that woman.

William sat for another moment, staring at the items...then gathered them up - turned off the light in the living room and kitchen - and headed for his bedroom to look in his desk for a screwdriver.

The time was 11:22 PM.

to be continued...


	10. Angelica's Wish

  
  
**10. Angelica's Gift **

_"Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends, we're so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside."_  
-- Emerson, Lake and Palmer, "Brain Salad Surgery"

11:22 PM.  
_"Take a full-length mirror into a quiet room." _

William brought the items into the bedroom, nudging the light switch with his elbow. He laid the items on the end of the bed and turned to his desk, finding a small Phillips screwdriver in the top drawer amongst various pens and pencils. He then went to the door and closed it, and looked the mirror over. It was roughly two feet wide by five feet, with a one-inch wood frame around it, capped at the edge with brass. At each corner, and halfway up each long side, a small round flange extended from the frame to hold a brass screw.

William kneeled and started at the bottom, placing the screws in the pocket of his t-shirt as each was removed. When only the top screws remained, he stood and slid the fingers of one hand around the back of the frame to hold the mirror. Just before he removed the last screw, he put his knee against the door next to the frame of the mirror, in case it got away from him. He let the last screw fall to the floor, and after that, the screwdriver. The mirror was free of the door. William put his other hand to the frame and hefted the mirror, carrying it to about two feet on the other side of his desk, facing the bed. He lowered it carefully to the floor, the bottom about an inch from the wall, and gently let the top tap against the wall.

11:36 PM.  
_"Then turn off all the lights." _

William unfolded the paper with The Rules to see what he was to do next. He returned to his desk for a disposable lighter in the top drawer, which he put in his shirt pocket. He then picked up the candle. He brought it to his nose and smelled it again, taking in the rich aroma of vanilla.

_"Make sure there is no outside light in the room." _

William turned and flicked off the light switch.

Street lights from the front of the apartment building and from the building katy-corner to his were casting enough light on his bedroom window that the room was not completely dark. William turned the light on again. There was a towel on the bed from when he took his shower. He put the candle into his pocket, picked up the towel and placed it over the window, tucking one end over the curtain rod. He then went back and flicked off the light again. He waited a moment until his eyes adjusted.

William could still make out things in the room. There was a soft light seeping in on either side of the towel. It wasn't quite wide enough.

He thought for a moment...then gathered the items off the bed into one hand and pulled back the corner of his bedspread with the other, placing the items on the now-exposed sheet. Wiliam then pulled off the rest of the bedspread and gathered it into his arms, nearly knocking over the nightstand next to the bed. He walked back to the window and, leaving the towel in place for extra coverage, lifted the bedspread over the window, the long side at the top, stuffing as much as he could over the curtain rod so it would stay.

William walked back once more and flicked off the light.

Complete darkness. William couldn't even make out where the window was.

11:47 PM.  
_"Light the candle." _

William bent slightly and reached out until he felt the edge of the bed. He followed it until he reached the nightstand, and sat on the bed. He pulled the candle and lighter from his pocket, striking the lighter. He held the lighter and the candle up in front of his face, and slowly moved the flame of the lighter to the wick. He grinned a little, the motion reminding him a bit of the scene from "E.T.," when Elliot's finger met the lighted digit of the alien.

The wick sparked to life. The room was now bathed in a warm yellowsh glow. William studied the lit candle, trying to think of what it reminded him of. It was a curious flame, a uniform yellow from top to bottom, with a sharp edge. William couldn't remember ever seeing a flame like this. Even magnesium, which they ignited in his high school science class and has a very bright, intense flame, didn't burn like this. The edge was too well-defined - and the flame's color didn't vary, indicating variations in heat - blue toward the bottom, to near white at the tip, as would most other candles. Wiliam's eyes got a little wider as he suddenly recalled the only time he'd ever seen a flame similar to this one--

In a _cartoon. _

William placed the candle on the back of a book laying on his nightstand, and set the lighter next to it. His shadow danced and flickered against the wall. The light reflecting off the mirror cast a shadow on the opposite wall.

11:52 PM.  
_"Unwrap and open the box." _

William moved to the foot of the bed, about five feet from the mirror, and picked up The Rules, reading now by the candlelight. He set the paper on his lap, and reached for the box. It looked almost exactly the size that a watch might come in. William hoped Angelica hadn't spent that kind of money on him, even if it was an inexpensive watch from a drugstore, from the "impulse counter" - usually next to the register - enticing one to pick up that last-second knick-knack while waiting to be rung up: a lighter, some batteries, or a thin paperback teaching one how to talk to their cat. William imagined that by her appearance, Angelica would apply money to more important things.

William tugged on one end of the gold-glitter string until the shoelace bow fell away, the string draping over the fingers of one hand. He put his thumb on the lid and slowly lifted it. The inside of the box was lined with a silver cloth which looked like a form of silk, and was layered, to pad the box. William reached in and brought out what was in the box.

Nestled in the cloth was a small six-sided vial, about three inches in height and a little over an inch wide at the base, tapering toward the top. In the light of the candle, it appeared to be slightly darker than robin's-egg blue. It had a cap at the top, slightly wider than the vial itself, which tapered to a point. The vial had patterns on it which made it appear as if were made of marble, but it felt like glass to the touch.

_"__DO NOT __open what is in the box." _

_Cologne,_ thought William. _Quite the pomp and dramatics for a bottle of cologne, Angelica._ William wondered if the cologne would smell of vanilla, too. He then wondered if Angelica had ever dabbled in some form of the occult. He put the box back on the bed and picked up The Rules from his lap.

11:54 PM.  
_"Place what is in the box in front of the mirror. Make sure you can see the reflection of it in the mirror."_

William bent down and stood the vial upright on the floor, about an inch in front of the mirror. He then sat back up and looked at the vial, making sure there was an image of it reflected in the mirror.

_"Clear your mind and heart of __EVERYTHING EXCEPT:__ the mirror...the candle...the scroll...and what is in the box." _

William closed his eyes, and thought of Angelica. Their first encounter...the instant warmth of her hand...the uneasiness which had gripped him since then, nearly as tightly as her grasp. He thought about the quick, steady pace of her voice, the ever-present slight cracking tone to it as she spoke - and how the tone changed when she gave him the items. He remembered asking Angelica what would happen if he were to follow The Rules - and her response - smiling and pointing to the bookstore sign. The winged unicorn bound in golden rope. He then remembered how her life and their short interaction came to such a sudden end. Poof. Her life ended just as the end of the two encounters - she just...disappeared.

William then opened his eyes, and focused on each of the items...the mirror...the candle...the scroll...and the vial.

11:59 PM.  
_"Just before midnight - unwrap the scroll." _

William picked up the scroll from the bed and held it lightly, feeling the texture...noting the less-than-smooth edges...as if it had been carefully torn from a grocery sack. He trapped one end of the gold string between his thumb and forefinger and pulled at it slowly, noting how smoothly it slid through the knot. The shoelace bow collapsed and the string fell away from the scroll, curling onto his leg and the bed. William kept the scroll closed, and turned back to watch the red LED lights on the clock of his alarm.

12:00 AM.  
_"At exactly midnight - open the scroll and read it aloud." _

William picked up the edge from the scroll, and slowly unrolled it. It was covered in Angelica's perfect penmanship. A poem of several lines, which almost read like obscure song lyrics. William wondered if Angelica had ever heard the band Dream Theater.

_"Read __EXACTLY __what is on the scroll, from beginning to end - don't leave out anything. Say the words with all that is in your heart." _

William pulled the scroll out flat, to make sure there wasn't anything hidden at the edges. William then heard the echo of Angelica's voice in his mind, from the first encounter: "...the strong belief in your heart that...anything...anything is possible." William swallowed hard, adjusted the scroll so he could read by the candle, and read the first line aloud in a strong, clear voice.

"Animation breathes its Life from a Cloudless Mind;"

He looked around the room - then read the second line.

"The Doubting, though surrounded by Light, are blind;"

William looked around again - then was drawn to the vial. It had changed, becoming a brighter blue than it first appeared in the candlelight - as if it were taking on a light of its own. He swallowed hard again - then turned back to the scroll.

"The Candle falls before the Wind; The Mirror falls behind you;  
The Reflections of Reality tear asunder twice-dimensioned views;"

William lowered the scroll. His eyes became as wide as saucers. The vial was now a brilliant yellow, almost white. It outshone the light of the candle. He looked up at the mirror, which was now reflecting the light from the vial - then William drew his feet from the floor and crossed his legs on the bed as he realized - it wasn't the vial -

The mirror itself was beginning to glow, casting its own silver light on the room.

William steeled himself, raised the scroll again, and continued to read.

"The Unbelievable; Now Receivable;  
The Unobtainable; Now Embraceable;"

A light breeze now began to rustle the scroll in William's hand, and tease at his hair and clothes. The vial was now as bright as a sunlamp, and the mirror was nearly white, with streaks of silver through it, containing reflections of the room. William thought the mirror was beginning to wave and distort, as if it had become a body of water. William continued reading, speaking a bit louder, trying not to let his growing fear waver the tone of his voice.

"The Heart, Capable; Belief, Inescapable;"

William now sensed a low ambient runbling that he felt more than heard, as if it were approaching from a distance - yet nothing in the room was shaking - just moving from the growing wind, seeming to come from the vial and the mirror, which now appeared to have flecks of yellow near the center. It was beginning to become difficult for William to see in the now nearly-blinding light. He looked behind him. There was no shadow. It was as if the light was coming now from every direction. William was almost shouting now as he read the last of the lines on the scroll.

"The Improbable; Now Plausible;  
The Incredible--"

The wind died. The mirror faded and became nearly black, the only light still appearing were the yellowish flecks. William almost cleared his throat-

_"Speak __NOTHING ELSE __aloud but what is on the scroll." _

William lowered his voice and spoke the last line.

"--Now Possible"

It was like the shockwave from a nuclear explosion. The wind burst forth violently, causing William to recoil as if he had been kicked in the chest, and whipping the scroll from his hands, pinning it to the wall. A light twice as bright as before erupted from the mirror.

"Aaaaaa_AAAAAAHH!_" William screamed, scooting up the bed until his back slammed against the headboard. He shielded his eyes with his hands. He looked down. The dark blue t-shirt he was wearing appeared white. He looked to his side. The nightstand - the floor - the walls - everything appeared white from the intensity of the light. William turned toward the mirror again, trying to peer through cracks between his fingers. The yellow flecks that were near the center of the mirror were now moving to form a shape on the mirror. It almost looked like - the outline of a human form.

Then the light seemed to split into three sections, and while still blindingly white, took on the hint of red, green and blue, from top to bottom. There was no real gap between the sections that William could make out, but there was a clear demarcation between each color. The yellow flecks in the mirror seemed now to melt together, making the outline they formed appear as one solid line. Then that outlne seemed to step OUT of the mirror. The light became too bright for William to look at any further, and he closed his eyes, covering them completely. He pulled a pillow over his head and curled into a fetal position to shield himself from the wind.

12:13 AM.  
There was no wind.  
There was no light.  
There was no rumbling.  
There was no more uneasiness in his stomach.

William slowly pulled the pillow from his head. He sat upright, and his hand touched the scroll, rustling it a bit. He picked it up, rerolled it and moved it toward the foot of the bed. He turned to his left to the nightstand, and saw the soft glow of the LED from his clock. He then looked toward where he thought the mirror would be in the completely-darkened room. only the flecks were visible, still in the outline of a human form, but no longer solid. A few of them dripped, as if they had become molten glass.

A noise broke the silence. William jumped a bit - then realized it was the box falling off the bed. He wondered what condition his bedroom was in now.

"Hello? Could you light that candle again?"

William nearly jumped out of his soul. He froze solid, wondering where the voice had come from.

"Can you light the candle? Please? I can't see anything in here."

William slowly reached to the nightstand, thinking Angelica must have put a small recorder or speaker in the box - but the voice sounded too ambient to come from a speaker that small. It sounded like another presence was in the room.

The candle had fallen over, rolling to the back of the nightstand, next to the wall. He fumbled until he found it. He slid his hand back until the candle was resting on the book again, finding the lighter. He lit it, and slowly moved it to the wick of the candle. It once again sparked to life.

William then slowly turned his head to face the mirror. He froze again. The mirror indeed held the outline of a human form - but there was no mirror in the outline. There were still a couple of places where the edge of the outline appeared as if it had been melted. But what William froze at - was the young woman standing between the mirror and the bed.

She looked to be mid- to late-teens in age. She stood somewhere between five and five-and-a-half feet tall by William's guess. She was looking around the room and how everything had been strewn about by the wind. Her eyes were very bright and wide - wider than human eyes normally were. She was dressed in jeans and a green tank top. She had a long mane of bright red hair - too bright to be the usual "red" of human hair. In fact, that was one of the first things William noticed about the woman's appearance - that she wasn't quite normal. Not the "normal" one would associate with someone standing in one's bedroom. She looked more like - a cartoon. She looked like -

Her gaze now turned to William. "Sorry about the mess. The cross must have done this. Hi. Who are you?"

William tried three times before he could stammer out his name.

The woman took a step in William's direction, her hand extended. "Nice to meet you, William. I'm K--"

William passed out. William passed out because Kim Possible - _**THE **_Kim Possible - was standing in his bedroom.

The shrill buzz of the clock radio alarm sliced through the dawn-lit solitude of the bedroom. William reached over, tapped the 'off' button, and sat up, reaching for his glasses. _5:30. Great. Another day. _

But what a _DREAM _last night! Everything seemed so incredibly real, he could swear he lived the events. And the dream covered several days. It even had events from work!

It was then that William noticed that instead of just boxers, he had worn his jeans and dark blue t-shirt to bed. The same ones that he had on in the dream. His bedroom was an absolute wreck. And where did this candle on his nightstand come fr--

There was a slight movement on the bed behind William - and a small hand slid along the bed, beside his leg. He turned around - and saw the sleeping form next to him, her mane of red hair sprawling across the pillow.

William reached for the phone on his nightstand and dialed, never taking his eyes from the girl now sleeping in his bed.

"Good morning, Meridian Answering Service, this is Marie. The offices won't be open until 8 AM. May I direct your call to a voice mail box?"

"Marie, this.....this is William Hodge, with Claims and Reconciliation. I won't be in today, I've....I had unexpected company come in late last night. Could you tell David Morris that I'll call him either this afternoon or evening?"

"I'll tell them, William. Thanks."

William fumbled to hang up the phone, his stare still locked on the slumbering Kim. "What...hath...Angelica...wrought?" he whispered.

to be continued...


	11. Life With Kim  Pt 1

  
  
**11. Life With Kim, Pt. 1 ("Guess Who's Coming to Breakfast?") **

7:34 AM.

WIlliam had stared at Kim for a solid two hours, afraid to wake her or even turn on a light to get a better look at her, for fear she would go "poof" and be gone. He had brushed her hair with his fingers once or twice in the barely-lit room. It was lighter to the touch than human hair...and smoother.

The light of day was beginning to seep into the window. William wondered how the curtain rod had been half-taken down - and how the bedspread had gotten back onto the bed. He didn't remember much of anything after Kim's "arrival." He looked her over a little more closely now that there was more light in the room. She lay on her right side as she slept, her knees drawn up slightly, one hand under her head.

Kim's skin appeared slightly different than in her TV episodes, being exposed to the properties of light and shadow in the real world, but it was perfect - not a single blemish, no scars - nary a freckle, much less a pimple. Her edges were no longer outlined, like a cartoon - yet were a bit more prominent than that of a human. Unlike the restrictions of animation coloring, the gradations of varying amounts of light combined with three dimensions lent no doubt to the fact that Kim was now a physical presence. Her body made curves and shape under the covers. The dip of her waist moved slightly with her breathing. The pillow was depressed from her head resting on it.

William caught a faint whiff of vanilla, and wondered if it was coming from the candle - or Kim. He slowly turned, so as not to wake his new guest, and looked at the candle. Even though burning for at least 20 minutes during the last night's ritual and then being relit after Kim appeared, it had barely melted. The wick only looked singed at the tip.

William turned back to Kim. There was enough light in the room now that he could see her face clearly. He thought about the cliche of most women looking like an angel while they slept...whoever coined that line had never seen Kim - but he hit the target dead center. Her face shone like a rich cream. It gave a glow to the pillow.

William leaned in a little closer, lifting a lock of her hair and bringing it to his nose.

Vanilla.

He felt like shouting Angelica's praises from the roof.

He leaned in yet closer. Her mouth was that perfect little curve, reminding one of a flourish in calligraphy. He heard the gentle sound of her breath. He felt the warmth of sleep radiating from her skin. He was close enough, all William need do was purse his lips, and he could kiss her cheek. She was here. Kim Possible was really--

"Oh!"

_bang _

"Owwww..."

William sat up quickly, holding his smarting nose. Kim winced and sank back onto the pillow, her hand on her forehead.

"Uhhh...Good morning. Are you all right??"

"Ih'm hfinne. Nthat was hmy hfault," said William through his hand.

"No. I shouldn't have jumped like that, I'm sorry. But you were like, right in my face when I woke up. I wasn't expecting that. Are you sure you're okay?"

William looked at his hand. No blood. "I'm okay. How about you?"

"Just a bump. It's no big."

A wave of tingles made William shudder slightly. He turned to Kim. "H-hi. I'm William. William Hodge," he said, extending his hand.

"I know," replied Kim, sitting up. "You told me last night. Well, kind of. I'm K--" She stopped. "You're...you're not going to pass out again, are you?"

"No," William grinned. "Not this time."

"Then I'm Kim," she said, grasping William's hand. "Kim Pos--"

"I...know who you are," said William, grinning wider. "Your...reputation precedes you, I guess you could say." Her touch was warm, soft...and he held her hand probably longer than he should have. Then he looked at Kim quizzically. "I passed out?" he asked.

"Boy, did you. I tried shaking you awake. You were so out. I went over and pulled the quilt off of the window. I...kind of broke your curtain rod. I'm sorry."

William held up his hand. "It's, uhh...no big?," still trying to grasp the fact that he was conversing with _the_ Kim Possible - in his bed, yet.

Kim smiled widely. "I put the quilt over you...and I was kind of tired from the cross...so I just...crawled in and went to sleep. I hope that was okay."

_...'okay,' she asks,_ thought William. "No, that's fine. Did you sleep well?"

"Very well. This quilt is way warm - especially after the cross. And I didn't have any night clothes to wear," said Kim, looking down over her tank top and jeans.

"Yeah," replied William. "I slept in my clothes, too...but I don't think I had a choice. You mentioned 'the cross'..."

"When I came through the mirror. That's the cross."

"It's cold?"

"Well...ever touched a mirror?" said Kim. "Think of how cold it is going through one."

"Gotcha," said William. "But...during the end of the 'cross,' there were parts of the mirror that appeared to...melt...when it formed your outline."

"That's part of the transformation from Celler to Flesher environments," explained Kim. It's kind of a residual effect. I don't know a lot about the cross other than what Wade has told me, but I do remember that part of it."

"Cel-lar?" William asked. "Flesher? Did...you come from a basement--?"

"Nonononono," giggled Kim. "C-e-l-l-e-r. Celler. You know...the cels used to create the animation frames. That's what we're called." She took William's hand in hers, and brought the back of his hand to her chest. "Celler--"

Warm. Soft. Real. William could feel her heartbeat.

She then moved his hand to his own chest. "Flesher."

William noticed the thudding of his own heart, like a child on Christmas mornng. He then asked, "You're...not a carto--?"

Kim quickly pressed her index finger to William's lips. "William," she said, "Never..._ever_...call us cartoons. A 'cartoon' is a term for the shows we act in...or if you're talking about a non-animated character - like a comic book or something. Calling a Celler a cartoon is actually a form of insult."

"I'm sorry." Then William grinned slightly. "What about 'Looney Toons'?"

"Look when those were made," Kim continued. "It was during the 40's and 50's. Back then, it was acceptable to call fleshers of different ethnic backgrounds insulting names, too."

"Point taken. So...you're a Celler who acts in a cartoon."

"Yep."

"You're...not just, umm, 'alive' when they make the cels?"

"Are you just 'alive' when someone snaps a picture of you?" Kim smiled.

William thought for a moment, trying to process a dozen things at once while thinking up two dozen more things to ask about. "This cross thing...you talk about it as if you've done it before."

"Many times."

"Doesn't that get tiring?"

Kim stopped for a second, collecting her thoughts. "This...isn't really easy to explain," she said. "I'm...you know...'me'...but I'm really not. Ummm...darn, Wade explained this, too. I should have written it down. There is no one 'copy' of 'me'...but each 'me' - is 'me.' Do you understand?"

"Kind of," replied William. "So do other um, Cellers, do this too? Cross over into the real world?"

"William!" Kim looked at him, rather shocked. "I'm real! I'm as real as you are! If I wasn't real, could I do this?" She began to tap William on the forehead with her index finger, in time with her words. "Hel-lo-do-you-feel-this-am-I-real-or-what?" They both laughed. "And yes, Cellers cross often," she added.

"Really," William said. "Yet I've never heard of this happening before."

"Well...it's not _that_ many. But you won't hear about it because the people who end up meeting Cellers couldn't explain their level of fascination with Cellers to other Fleshers, much less that they actually spend time with one. Who would expose to the public that which no one else believes or would understand - no matter how real they are in the Flesher environment?" Kim giggled. "That's why you never see flying saucers landing in large cities, either."

"Makes sense to me," said William, nodding.

"A cross only comes to a Flesher who really, really believes," she continued, "and has...you'll pardon the cliche...a 'pure heart.' You won't see any evil villains crossing and wreaking havoc in the Flesher environment." Kim flopped back onto the bed. "No evil villains! This is like an extended vacation from saving the world!"

"Yeah...no Drakken, no Shego--"

"You'd be surprised," Kim interrupted. "It's a show, remember? Actually, Shego and I are best friends off-camera. We're very close. Ever watch our 'fights'? They wouldn't be so smoothly correographed if we were really enemies." Kim then lifted up on one elbow. "Did you know that Shego's really a blonde in a Cher wig??"

William's eyes widened. Kim looked at him for a few seconds - then fell back onto the bed, erupting in laughter. "So not! I'm actually jealous of her hair."

"Hmmm. How about Bonnie?" asked William.

"Now her, I don't get along with. All those insults back and forth? That's mostly real. They've had to stop production several times when our dialogue escalated into shouting matches."

Kim stood up, shooed William to his feet, and started to straighten the sheets, making the bed. William asked as he picked up a pillow and fluffed it, "You said an 'extended vacation.' Ummm...how long will you be here?"

Kim walked over to the mirror and the vial. The cap was off, laying beside it. Kim picked up the vial in one hand, the cap in the other, and held them out. "I'm here until you do this." She then made the motion of replacing the cap on the vial, yet not letting the two touch. "That's the way to send me back."

_She had to be kidding!_ thought William. "No problem," he said. "Put the vial in my desk there. Toss me the cap." William placed the cap in the drawer of the nightstand. He then whisked his hands together. "Done and done."

Kim smiled. "Cool," and returned to making the bed. "Let's clean this place up," she said. "I'll bet it didn't look like this before I got here."

"Actually, I'm a little hungry," said William, straightening the items on his nightstand, his back to Kim. "I could make you some breakfast. I went to the store yesterday. Can you eat eggs? I'm not the world's greatest cook--"

"EGGS!??" shrieked Kim. She leaped across the bed and threw her arms around William.

"You like eggs?" laughed William, shocked at the girl's sudden reaction, while at the same time enjoying the contact. "Would you like toast with that?"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes," replied Kim, sliding her arms further around his neck.

"...and...some...juice?"

"Juuuuuiiccce..." Kim purred. "Lead the way."

William showed Kim into the kitchen, and pulled out one of the tall chairs on the living room-side of the breakfast nook for her to sit in.

"I suppose I should ask," he said. "Is there anything that you have to stay away from, food-wise?"

"Only two things I know of," replied Kim. "Alcohol is right out. And any form of artificial sweetener. Both cause severe chemical reactions, and can make us really sick."

"So noted," said William, retrieving a loaf of bread from the breadbox next to the stove. "There's none of either here, so we're cool. How many eggs can you eat?"

"twooo..?"

William got a skillet from the lower cupboard, and a carton of eggs and butter from the fridge. He turned on the burner, and let a slice of butter slide into the skillet.

William was still adjusting to the fact that Kim Possible walked out of what used to be his mirror in the midst of the chaos produced by the ritual last night - let alone the fact that he had awakened to her sleeping next to him. And now he was cooking breakfast for her. He thought for a moment about sticking his hand on the burner, to prove he wasn't dreaming.

He turned to Kim to ask her preference. "How do you want...your...eggs..."

Kim's expression staggered William's statement. Her eyes were half-closed, and her mouth was drawn into a day-dreaming smile. "Yesss," she cooed.

"...Kim?"

Kim snapped into coherency for a second. "Oh! Hi, hehe. I'm sorry. Sunny side up, please."

William smiled at her, and turned back to the stove, first breaking one egg against a second, pouring it into the skillet, and repeating twice more before breaking the last egg on the rim. The yolks stared back at him like some four-eyed ovoid alien. He reached into the bread bag and put two slices into the toaster. "Two pieces of toast?"

"Mmm-hmmm."

He slipped two more slices in and pushed down the levers. Wiliam then got two glasses out of the upper cupboard, and took a plastic half-gallon jug of orange juice out of the fridge. He began pouring. "Say when," he said over his shoulder. The glass was nearly full, and William stopped, turning again to Kim. She had the same dreamy expression on her face, and was transfixed on the skillet.

"Kim? Are you okay?"

"...oh yeaahh --" Her attention snapped to him again. "uhh, what?"

"I wondered how much juice you wanted."

"Oh. Heh. Fill'er up."

William brought the full glass to Kim and set it on the counter in front of her, to which she replied with a warm "Thanks," and took a sip. William almost thought he heard a rather high-pitched noise as he walked back to the stove, but quickly turned his attention to the skillet, which was now beginning to pop and spittle. He turned the flame down a bit just as the toast sprang up.

"Peach preserves for your toast? Or just butter?"

"Yes."

"Heh. Umm...which, Kim?"

"I'm sorry...preserves, please."

William then realized that Kim was watching every step in the cooking process with a distracted and passionate interest. He spread preserves on two slices of bread, and butter on the other two. He then got two plates out of the cupboard, and a spatula and two forks from a drawer next to the stove. He set down the plates and slipped two of the eggs onto one of them, and the toast with preserves. He walked over and presented the plate to Kim, who now had an anticipating look. "Breakfast is a-served, M'dam. There's salt and pepper there on the counter. I'll be there in a minute."

William returned to the stove and fixed his own plate, then sat in the chair on the kitchen side, across from Kim.

"This...is..._so_ good, William," said Kim between bites.

"I'm glad you like it," William replied, and cut into one of his eggs.

Then he heard the noise again. It was Kim. A barely-audible whimper each time she chewed a bite of food.

"Kim?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"Forgive me for asking, but...are you...moaning?

"William..." started Kim. She looked down, blushing a bit - then lifted her eyes at him without raising her head. "I'm sorry. Yes...yes, I guess I am. It's this _food!_"

"You don't have to be gracious," said William. "I already know that I'm not the best cook in the world."

"It's not that," said Kim, raising her head. "And there's nothing wrong with this breakfast. Your cooking is quite good. It's _all_ Flesher food that affects me like this."

"Oh. It tastes better than...Celler food?"

Kim's eyes widened. "It _TASTES,_ William. That's the difference."

"Do Cellers actually eat in the Celler...world?" asked William.

"Environment. Yes, we do. In fact, Celler food has all the nutritional and caloric value that Flesher food does. But it has absolutely no taste whatsoever."

"So on a show, when you say something tastes 'good'..." he asked.

"It's acting," replied Kim, smiling and taking another bite of toast. "m-m-mmm...now...back to flesher food. Try to imagine the best meal you've ever eaten in your life. Now multiply that by three. That's what Flesher food tastes like to a Celler."

"_ALL _Flesher food??" asked William, intrigued.

"_ALL _Flesher food. It's like heaven to a Celler. In fact...it's almost better than sex." She took another bite, then added, "--almost."

Hmmm. That led him to think of questions on a subject he thought better than to bring up at the breakfast table.

Kim then leaned toward William on one elbow, wagging her fork at him. "William? You could serve roasted skunk butt in a light hollandaise sauce...and a celler would ask you to pass the salt," she smirked, and reached for her juice.

"Eww-w-w-w," William said through a laugh. He then tore a slice of his toast in half, and dipped it into the yolk of his remaining egg. He hesitated a moment with a thoughtful look on his face before taking a bite. "Guess I'll have to watch at the grocer for a sale on skunk butt," he uttered nonchalantly.

William's mistake was saying this while Kim had juice in her mouth. "Mmm-ma-_HAHAHAHA!_" Both Kim and the juice burst out together, spraying William.

A now-dripping William looked at Kim with a shocked smile. He reached to the back of his chair, and brought a dishtowel to his face.

"What a gracious host," giggled Kim.

William brought the towel down, exposing one eye. "Hmm?"

Kim tore a corner from her last half-slice of toast and tossed it at him. "Breakfast is on you." She lasted through about four seconds of William staring at her with that same incredulous smile before bursting into laughter again, putting her hand over her mouth to try to stifle it. She ended up having to hide her face in her arms on the counter, laughing through a closed mouth - "Hm-hm-hm-hm-hm" - lifting her head now and then to look at him - same incredulous smile - then down again, snickering and returning to "Hm-hm-hm-hm-hm..."

to be continued...


	12. Life With Kim  Pt 2

  
  
**12. Life with Kim, Pt. 2 ("Duh!") **

9:12 AM.  
After breakfast, Kim and William set about doing a little cleaning, starting with the dishes. William took the plates and put them into the sink. He was followed by Kim, with the juice glasses. He put the dishes into the sink and started the water, then turned to get the skillet from the stove. When he turned back to the sink, Kim was leaning over it, letting her fingers drift slowly back and forth through the rising water, sometimes playing them through the faucet stream.

"Would you like to wash, or dry?" asked William.

"I....think I'd better dry," replied Kim, with a small shudder.

"Water too cold?"

"mmmm, nooooo..."

"Hmmmm." William paused. "...something else I should know about Cellers?"

"Water, William," said Kim. "We're intensely drawn to water...fascinated by it. It's an experience on all the senses."

"no water in the Celler environment, I take it?"

"No actual water. Something about an interaction with us. Anyway, water is a real treat. A bath has been known to be quite arousing."

"...so you're saying you prefer showers?"

"So not!" Kim giggled.

William showed Kim where the dishes went as she finished drying each one. When she put the glasses away, Kim put her hand on William's shoulder for leverage as she reached for the top shelf. The contact was warm, warmer than a human touch - another reassurance to William that this was no dream. Kim Possible did walk out of his mirror last night...Kim Possible was now standing in his kitchen, helping with the dishes...and Kim Possible was a physical presence, as real as he was.

William didn't realize it yet, but the contact was initiating a process in his mind about the "feelings" he had for Kim when she was just someone inside the box - part of his cathode ray "family" - and how or even if they would change now that she was an actual, physical part of his life...and how he would - or even if he could - confess them to Kim.

William's "secret wish" was to meet someone just like Kim, who wasn't in his other life - the one from inside the box. He still couldn't figure out how Angelica read that. One thing was for certain - his secret wish had come true - in spades.

After the dishes were done, William ran a sponge over the countertop of the breakfast nook and dried it with a dishtowel, then headed for the bedroom. Kim had already entered the room, and was picking up papers and books that had scattered from his desk and bookcase during the ritual. "The books were on the second shelf," he said, as he uprighted his printer, "And the papers go in the tray over the monitor."

"I was going to ask you about the computer," inquired Kim. "I'll want to send Wade an email in the next day or so, if that's alright."

"Wow. Email and everything. Just like--

"...just like for real," Kim sulked.

William wanted to crawl under the rug.

"Kim, I'm sorry. This is all still...new to me. It's...not as if you just came up and rang the doorbell, you know."

"It's okay...really. It actually happens more often than not. It is quite an adjustment, after the initial shock of the cross. I...guess I wasn't ready for it."

"Kim, please...feel free to email anyone you want, anytime you want. If you want, I can set up a second email address on my account." He looked through his top desk drawer for some screws to put the curtain rod back up.

"Thanks," Kim smiled, patting the stack of papers and putting them in the tray. "Hey, remind me to tell him to send more information about the cross...the stuff I couldn't remember."

"There's probably a lot I can think up to ask Wade," said William jokingly.

Kim smirked a bit. "There're still a lot of things I know. You don't have to resort to the super-genius just yet."

William then got the screwdriver from the floor next to the door and walked over to rehang the curtain rod. Kim sat in the chair at his computer desk.

"Kim?" William looked back over his shoulder as he was tightening the last screw. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," replied Kim.

William slid the curtains into place and turned around with a "ta-da" flourish. Kim applauded softly, smiling.

William walked back to the desk, putting the screwdriver back into his desk drawer and sliding it closed. He then sat on the foot of the bed, facing Kim. "You know...I've watched all of your episodes, and have most of them on tape. But even with all that, and now, given that you're...here, instead of on the TV...I realize that I really don't know that much about _you_ yourself. I just wondered a few things about you that aren't readily available from the show."

"Ask away," said Kim, bringing up one knee and interlocking her fingers around it.

"Well...for instance...how old are you?"

"I'm not," she grinned.

William raised an eyebrow.

"Just as with actors in the Flesher environment, we're asked to play an age for our roles. But that's where the similarity stops. Cellers really have no chronological age, other than our creation date...but that's not considered our 'age.' Otherwise, I'd be less than a year old."

"Do you....'age' at all?"

"The only way we're considered to 'age' is when animation techniques advance. But as far as chronological 'age' - no, we don't. I'm not really any younger or older than Betty Boop or Judy Jetson."

William was amazed with the ease at which Kim's explanations fit together so well. Each answer made her all the more rea--

William mentally slapped himself. Then he continued.

"How tall are you?"

"I'm 5'5"."

"And weight?"

"You know better than to ask a lady that," Kim giggled. "I'm kidding. I'm 118 pounds."

"What, uhh...size clothes do you wear? Please tell me if I'm out of bounds here."

"Not at all," Kim replied, making a "pshaw" motion with her hand. "I'm actually a size 5, but I like wearing size 6 pants - you know, like my mission cargo pants - so I can move around freer. Those and sweatpants, which I sleep in most of the time. Anything else? Oh - size 6 1/2 shoe," she said, bringing up her foot.

Wiliam took a slip of paper and a pen from the desk, and wrote down the information Kim had given him. "Do you happen to know your measurements?" he asked.

"The last time I was measured was for the yellow cheerleading outfit in 'Number One'," said Kim. "It was 32...23...ummm, 34."

William continued writing.

"William?"

"mm-hm?"

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were measuring me up to buy me some clothes."

"Well, you'd be right. After all, you'll be staying a while...that is, if you want to." William then looked at the floor for a moment, and asked, "You said the way to send you 'back' was to put the cap back on the vial..."

"That's right," said Kim, with a bit of apprehension. "You're...not thinking of sending me back already, are you?"

"No!" William replied instantly. "I was just wondering...is it possible for a celler to...send themself back?"

Now Kim looked at the floor. "Yes. The same way as if you were to send me back. But something has to go really wrong for one of us to want that to happen."

"Like...?"

"Like if we were mistreated, or made to do evil things. Remember what I said about villains crossing? It's kind of the same thing, if a Flesher were to ask us to do something against our character. It's a sort of unwritten pact between the Cellers when we started doing the cross."

"Well, I don't think I have any evil planned," said William.

"You know...if you want to feel more at ease, you can hide either the vial or the cap, if you want to. If you're worrying about me sending myself back, that is."

William looked at Kim for a long moment...then said, "Kim...you were brought here by something I can't describe any other way, but a miracle. To tell you the truth, I'm still getting used to the fact that you're here at all. I don't want to keep you from doing anything you want to do. But if you want to go back someday, it will have to be by your decision...because if it were up to me, that vial and cap will collect a lot of dust, and I'll forget what they looked like when they were together."

Kim searched William's eyes for a few seconds. "William...if this morning has been any indication...I don't think it's a decision I'll have to make at all." Her mouth slowly spread into a smile.

William felt his heart shift gears, and a choke began to grow in his throat. He slapped his hands on his legs and stood up, to break the mood, which felt like it was about to become too deep to keep in control - at least for him. "I'm going to change my shirt and head down to the square. I can stop by the grocer on the way back. Is there anything particular you would like for dinner?"

"No skunk butt!" blurted Kim with a laugh. "Not even if it's on sale!"

William wrote while saying, "....no....skunk...butt."

"Okay, here's my first stupid question," Kim asked. "What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a reconciliation clerk at an insurance company," said William, then putting his hand to his forehead. "Urrggh, and I have to call my new supervisor this afternoon or evening. Today's his first day, and I was supposed to help him get up to speed."

"So why didn't you go?"

William looked at the mirror...then at Kim, and laughed. "Duh!" Kim giggled in turn.

William showed Kim to the living room, then went back to the bedroom and changed into a black polo top. He then showed Kim how to work the remote for the TV and VCR, pointed out where his movies were, and told her that there was lots of food in the fridge for her to make whatever she wanted for lunch.

William then walked for the door, taking his coat from the chair. He turned around - and Kim was _right there_. "William?" she said, taking his hand into hers. The warmth that flowed through him made him feel like leaving his coat there. "Thank you," she said, looking into his eyes.

"For...?"

"...for not being evil, of course!" she said brightly. Then she widened her grin into a warm smile. "And for..." - long pause , as if she were cautiously choosing what to say - "...breakfast."

Willliam smiled warmly back at Kim. "I'd say 'no big'...but you know that." He then finished putting on his coat, and turned for the door.

"Don't be too long," chimed Kim.

William made it about a block-and-a-half before the emotions of the last 12 hours blindsided him. He sat on a bus bench, and wept a mix of tears of joy and pain for the better part of a half-hour before continuing to the market square.  
11:51 AM.

to be continued...


	13. Dinner For Two

  
  
**13. Dinner for Two (a succulent steak - seasoned with tears...) **

12:38 PM.  
After regaining his composure, William completed the three-block walk to the market square, and to "Versa-Style" - the clothing store on the same block as Bound Dreams, and across the street. He found a clerk and asked for her help with a project to completely outfit a woman in her late teens. He handed her the paper with Kim's measurements. She read down the list. "This doesn't seem to be too difficult," she said. Then she read further down. "no skunk butt?"

William had to laugh. "We were also discussing dinner suggestions."

The clerk smirked. "I can already tell she's a woman of discerning taste."

William then explained to the clerk about Kim's undemanding balance of taste for clothes - not having much desire for cutting-edge style, but at the same time, not the "dork" look either. The clerk was very helpful to William, and went the extra mile, laying out several choices to pick from, offering suggestions on color and fashion...staying away from "designer" labels, yet not going anywhere near the "bargain bin."

After better than two-and-a-half hours of presentation and decision, William and the clerk had amassed a rather impressive everyday wardrobe for Kim:

- three pair of jeans, in various styles, both full-length and the "calf-length" that Kim wore frequently;  
- two pair of dress slacks, in khaki and navy blue;  
- six pair of sweatpants, in varying colors;  
- several tank tops of the style Kim wore - every color of the rainbow;  
- three "polo" style shirts;  
- a couple of spaghetti-strap midriff-length tops;  
- a multi-pack of t-shirts, for sleeping or slumming;  
- two long-sleeve button-down casual shirts, for various uses;  
- a rich, thick pullover sweater in peach, with a "fuzzy" weave;  
- six pair of ankle-length socks, in pink, white and peach;  
- the essential "unmentionables," which the clerk picked out - from the description of her measurements, the clerk estimated a 33A size bra;  
As something William hoped Kim would get a kick out of, he also picked out a pair of olive cargo pants, a mid-sleeve midriff-length black cotton top, and black "ninja" slippers.

The clerk rang everything up, stuffing them into three large shopping bags with handles, and taped them closed. After slipping his credit card back into his wallet, William pulled out a $20 and offered it to her.

"I'm not really supposed to take this," she started to refuse.

"I'll bet you're not supposed to let one customer monopolize your afternoon, either," William quipped, pushing the bill into her hand.

The clerk accepted. "Thanks," with a rather sheepish but grateful smile.

William gathered the handles to the bags, and went across the street to the bookstore. He wanted Kim to see the logo which had worked itself into the events of the past days leading to her arrival. He bought a small mirror, five inches square, with the "Bound Dreams" winged unicorn painted on it. _What more fitting,_ thought William. He slid the mirror down the side of one of the clothing bags, and headed for the grocer, hoping to find something especially appealing to his new guest. While there, he also visited the "Health & Beauty" aisle, trying to anticipate as many of Kim's needs as possible. He bought a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, gel deodorant, a couple of hairbrushes, moisturizer, her own bars of soap, and a rudimentary makeup kit. The clerk knew William, and gave him a curious glance at seeing the toiletry items, knowing that William lived alone. "Company," was William's short explanation. He then gathered what was now more like luggage than bags, and started for his apartment.

4:46 PM.  
William hauled the bags through his door and went to shove it closed with his foot. Just before it hit the latch, William caught it and closed it quietly.

Kim was asleep on the couch. The stereo was tuned to a "pop" station, with the volume low. William left the groceries on the chair next to the bookcase, and quietly took the bags of clothes into the bedroom, setting them on the bed.

William then turned around. This was the first time he had a good look at the mirror since the ritual. The missing material left a perfect silhouette of Kim. Every bit of the mirror within the outline was gone, leaving the thick cardboard backing exposed. William reached out and touched the edge of the outline. The edge of the glass was smooth, rounded to the touch, as if having been heated - even though Kim had described coming through the mirror as "cold."

William remembered the spots of the outline appearing molten. He looked to the floor. No burns or any other evidence of "hot spots." He remembered Kim describing it as a "residual effect" - yet there was nothing on the floor or even the bottom of the frame to suggest the mirror had melted, or even "dripped."

He came back to the living room and took the groceries to the kitchen, putting them on the counter. He flicked on the light.

William stopped and slowly looked around the kitchen. Everything had been cleaned and polished. A collection of notes and phone numbers that were stuck to the refrigerator with magnets were now arranged and organized. Chrome tins on the counter for flour, sugar and coffee shone brightly. Knick-knacks about the kitchen were dusted.

William returned to the living room. Dusting, vacuuming -- the place looked great. _Un...real,_ he thought.

5:08 PM.  
Kim was stirred awake by a hand softly stroking her upper arm, and a soft voice..."Kiimmmm...?"

Kim brought her hand up to sleepily itch her nose, then turned to William, who was kneeling on the floor. "Hi..."

William smiled. "You've been busy."

"I cleaned a little. Once I get going, I just...find more to clean," she said, sitting up. "I took a shower, then just laid down for a while."

"I have to call my supervisor...then I'll get started on dinner," said William. Kim stretched and stood up. William sat on the couch next to the phone.

"There's something in the bedroom for you," he said while picking up to dial. Kim walked toward the bedroom as the phone began to ring on the other end.

"Good Evening, Meridian Answering Service, This is Teri. The offices are closed at 4:30 PM. Can I direct your call to a voice mail box?"

"Hi Teri. This is William Hodge with Claims and Rec. I need a home number for David Morris. He just transferred from Sales to head of the department."

"Yes, William. David left a note saying he was expecting your call. (rustling of papers) His number at home is 582-1664."

"Thanks, Teri, I'll call him now." William hung up and dialed David at home.

"Hello?"

"Hello, David? William Hodge."

"William, how are you? I heard you had an unexpected arrival last night. Are things getting settled there?"

At that moment, Kim came out of the bedroom with two armfuls of clothes. She mouthed the word "Wow" and turned back toward the bedroom.

"Things together," said William through a smile in Kim's direction. "Just as with anything else, there are things to work out. But right now I'm more concerned with how things went at work today. I didn't mean to leave you hanging like that...but my company's arrival was so unexpected and...sudden. I've been running around like crazy trying to make things more comfortable."

"Well, things could have gone a little better," David said. "But they could have gone a lot worse. Most of the people in the department know their jobs well. But I understand when family matters come up; they must be attended to. And I know it can get quite unnerving if you don't expect them."

_You...have...NO...earthly idea,_ thought William, hearing the unruffling of clothes from the bedroom. "Yes, it was unexpected to say the least. So today wasn't the storm you were fearing?"

"All except the reports," replied David. "They really needed the touch of you and Marcy. And with Marcy gone to the Regents, and you away from the office, I'm not sure they measured up to the standard that LA is used to seeing."

William winced for a second. "Actually, that's something else I wanted to talk to you about. I know it sounds like I'm just leaving you out in the wind, and I don't mean to, especially after you asked for my help with hitting the ground running and all...but...to get things squared away might take a little longer than I first expected. I'm going to need a short leave of absence. Just a week or so. It would be the best way to bring things back to some sense of normalcy here."

David coughed. "Ouch. Hang on a second while I get this dagger out of my back! Kidding. I'm not sure I could do without you for that long. We'd need to work out some sort of contact during that time before I would feel comfortable with it. Could you come in for a few hours in the afternoons, just to do the reports?"

William's attention was drawn for a moment as Kim walked out of the bedroom. She was wearing a pair of pre-faded jeans, a dark red long-sleeve shirt, and the peach sweater. She walked by the couch and did a slow spin with her arms extended, then gathered two handfuls of the sweater and nuzzled her face into the soft material. It was like his heart skipped over a set of railroad tracks. William balanced the phone on his shoulder, gave a quiet golfclap with his arms extended, then made the motion of clicking a camera several times in quick succession. Kim returned a curtsey and a flourish, then walked quickly back to the bedroom.

"William?" came David's voice from the phone.

"Sorry David," William turned back to the phone. "Just had to check something out here. I think we can cover the reports another way. Set up a conference call tomorrow morning with Lee down in Data Operations. He can set up a port for me to telnet in and get the data each day. Then I can do up the reports, and upload them to you."

"Wow," replied David. Marcy said you think on your feet. I guess she wasn't kidding. That's a good idea. Hmm. That gives me another idea, something we could work out when we do get to sit down and brainstorm. Maybe give a few people the option to telecommute a few days a week."

"I like the sound of that...and I can think of a few others who would, too. Maybe something with an open voice line or intercom, so we could still interact without the phone ringing off the hook."

"William, it's a plan," said David, sounding enthused. "Expect a call sometime in the morning. And good luck with your company. I hope it all works out."

Kim came out at that time in another outfit - black oversized drawstring sweatpants and a navy blue spaghetti-strap top.

"Hoping very much for the same," said William, grossly understating as he took in the soft image.

"Okay, talk at you in the morning."

"G'night"

Kim walked over to the stereo and turned it up slightly as William hung up the phone. "Your new boss a nice guy?" she asked.

"He sure seems to be. We're going to work it out so that other than dialing in a few hours a day, I don't have to be at work at all this week."

"Modern technology," said Kim, smiling and shaking her head slowly.

"I told him I had company," joked William. "He wanted to know if you had a sister."

Kim giggled. "And what did you tell him?"

"I told him I didn't think so. But you do have a friend named Bonnie he might hook up with."

Kim burst into laughter, sitting on the couch. "Hate him that much already?"

"No," William laughed.

"William, these clothes are fantastic," said Kim. "But I think you went a bit overboard."

"Well...I want you to be comfortable. The clerk mostly picked them out."

"They're wonderful. Thank you so much."

William then stood up. "Wonderful...that's the exact word I hope we can apply toward the dinner I picked up on the way home."

Kim started for the bedroom. "While you're doing that, I'm going to put the rest on hangers and put them in the hall closet. I think I'll wear this tonight, judging by your approval when I walked out."

William laughed softly. "Sounds like a plan. I'm glad you like the clothes. Oh, and how do you like your steak?"

"_STEAK!??_" Kim shrieked from the bedroom, then a giggle and a small cough. "Medium please."

William went into the kitchen, unpacking the bag from the grocery. He gathered the toiletries for Kim and went to the bedroom. "These are for you, too."

Kim looked the items over with her mouth open. "Now this is really too much. It's like Christmas! Thank you!" She then looked at him with one eye closed. "Please tell me that's all you bought."

"Well...there is one more thing," said William, producing the small mirror from behind his back.

Kim took in a slow rush of breath. "That's...beautiful, William," she said almost in a whisper, and giving him a quick hug.

It was almost like stepping out into the warmth of a late spring evening to William.

"A winged unicorn. But why is it tied in rope?"

"I'll tell you the story over dinner," he said. "--which we won't have if I don't start it." He then turned for the kitchen.

William turned on the oven, set it for "broil," wrapped the potatoes in foil and set them on the middle rack. He then got the broiler rack from the bottom cupboard, wiped it quickly with a damp cloth to remove any dust, and put the two strip steaks on it - each a healthy 10 to 12 ounces - and sprinkled them with Monterey seasoning.

"William, you should have told me."

He turned to see Kim in the doorway, holding the backgammon set he kept next to his desk and grinning.

"You play?"

"Every chance I get."

Kim again sat on the living-room side of the breakfast nook and opened the board, arranging the pieces. William set the timer for the potatoes and sat opposite her. They rolled for color and first turn, and began playing. Over the next hour, Kim won the balance of the games.

"I think I should have hidden this," William smiled.

Kim giggled. "Shego made me this way. She taught me the game. I've beaten her like, twice in all the time we've been playing."

William glanced back at the timer, then back to Kim. "That brings up something I've been meaning to ask you."

"Tell me."

"Well...you said that villains can't cross, right?"

"Right."

"Okay...but then you tell me that you and Shego are the best of friends. If she's 'evil,' how are you such friends? And if you're friends, why can't she cross?"

"Remember the thing about villains not being able to cross, and fleshers trying to make us do something against our character?" explained Kim. "Well...the parts we play in the shows are more or less part of our character - our makeup. So for the most part, Shego _is_ evil. But not so much off the show. Urrghh, I'm not explaining this quite right. I really have to email Wade tomorrow."

6:40 PM.  
_ding_.

"That will be our potatoes," said William, standing and moving to the stove.

"Mmmmm...starch..."

William had to laugh at that. "Our steaks are next...Backgammon Girl." Kim snickered, and put her hand over her mouth.

William opened the oven and set the steaks in. "There. Fourteen minutes to charred animal flesh."

"William!" Kim laughed. "Are you trying to ruin the steak for me??"

"No, of course not," said William playfully. "If I wanted to do that, I would have brought home skunk butt and told you it was steak."

Kim giggled uncontrollably. "You..._DO_ know I was kidding about the skunk butt....right?"

William's face fell for a second. "Well, there goes tomorrow's dinner."

Kim burst into laughter again. "It's your roll....So Not Backgammon Boy," she smirked.

William turned the steaks at seven minutes. He brought them out and cut into one. Just a bit less juice than he anticipated. "These are just a little more than medium," he said back to Kim. "Is that okay?"

"...yeaahhh..."

William then motioned Kim to the small table next to the counter, pulling out her chair. "Medium Flesher food, coming right up," he said. He then got two plates from the upper cabinet, setting Kim's steak onto one, and wrapping a hot pad around one of the potatoes, lifting a flap on the foil to start it. He got two forks and steak knives from the drawer, and presented Kim with her plate. She slowly inhaled deeply, taking in the aroma.

"I forgot to ask if you like any sauces," said William, slapping his hand over his forehead lightly. "I have A-1, Heinz 57 and Worcestershire."

"ummm...Wor-chester-shire," Kim stumbled over the word.

William opened the refrigerator, taking out that and A-1, his preference. "I used to have trouble with that," he said. "The British pronounce 'cester' like 'ster.' So it's more like 'Wor-ster-sher.'" He took the bottles to the table, then went back for his steak and potato, sitting opposite Kim again.

"Dinner _and_ an English lesson," Kim teased. She then sprinkled the thin brown sauce over her meat, cut in and took a bite. Her eyes got as wide as saucers the split second she closed her mouth around the fork - then they melted nearly closed while crossing slightly. She sat there for a moment, reveling in the taste, a slow continual moan escaping from her lips.

"That good?" William inquired.

"You'd better know that's right," Kim replied, cutting another bite from her plate. Mmm-mm-m-m-mmm.

Even though it was a hearty cut of meat, Kim managed to eat nearly three-quarters of it, and found room for an entire half of her potato.

After dinner, William put the remainder of Kim's dinner into a plastic storage bag, and onto a shelf in the fridge. He then ran hot water into the sink, and set the plates in, vowing to do them when it was easier for him to move. He had eaten his entire steak.

Kim immediately re-challenged William to more backgammon, and they sat at the breakfast nook again. William won the first game. As they were setting up the pieces again, Kim looked at William. "I have to say something."

"Yes?"

Kim reached for William's hand. "This is becoming one of the nicest crosses I think I have ever done."

William drank in the image of the red-haired girl sitting across from him. He searched the light from her eyes, basking in it. He felt the current of her touch flowing through him...turning his hand over to face hers, his fingers curling around it. William wondered if the time to confess his feelings was racing to him faster than he could prepare for it. "Thank you, Kim," was all he could really find at the moment. "This is certainly an experience for me, too."

Kim's face spread into a warm smile, her eyes half-closing, still trained on him. "The food, the clothes - just everything. Thank you, Wiliam."

William slid one of his pieces over three spaces, finishing his move, and picked up his dice. "How did Cellers ever discover the cross?" he asked. "Or did you invent it?"

"So not," said Kim, stirring her dice cup slowly. "It was brought to us by a group who knew that there were a lot of Fleshers who wanted to experience something like this, and showed us how to make the Cross. We ended up calling them 'Cross Agents.' I guess you could call them travel agents, of a sort."

"Neat," William said.

Kim continued, "They're the ones who go out and find people just like you. The ones with the strong belief that it can really happen. They give the Fleshers the things that are needed to bring the Cross about...you know, the candle and stuff. There are a lot of them now, but the idea was presented to us by three women...Kathy...ummm, Misty, I think. And Angelica. Do you remember which one you met? You'd remember if it was Angelica. She rocks, William!" She put her elbow on the counter, leaning her head against her hand holding the dice cup.

Angelica.

William's expression sank as Kim finished. This was going to suck. Now it was his turn to reach for her hand.

"Kim........."

Kim gave a worried look. "William, you look so serious. Did I say something wrong? What's the matter?"

Tact suddenly became elusive for him. "Kim.......Angelica...." He swallowed and looked into her eyes. "Angelica...is dead."

William felt her fingers tighten around his. Her dice cup clattered to the counter. "...what?" she said as a breath of disbelief escaped her. A single tear burst down her cheek. "Wh-what??" she said again, her voice breaking.

William suddenly wished he were someone else. He wished he were telling anyone else. "She was killed yesterday afternoon...by a drunk driver. Kim...I'm so sorry."

Kim's lower lip began to quiver and her eyes became as liquid glass, welling up with tears as she brushed the hair back from her face with her free hand. Then she lowered her face onto that hand. Her eyes closed, and her expression twisted into one William instantly knew he never wanted to see come from her face again as a result of something he said to her. More tears began to flow, and Kim's shoulders moved from her sobs. She held his hand tighter.

William reached for Kim's hand with both of his now. "I...I wish there was something I could do," he started. Seeing her like this was tearing into him nearly as badly as the shock of the news was ripping through her.

Kim raised her head, her eyes now reddened. "W-William," she stammered, "c-can I use your phone? I...I need to call Wade."

"Of course Kim, anything," William replied, finding it harder to remain composed after seeing the miracle Angelica brought, now so wounded at the news of her death. Kim turned in the chair and went to the phone in the living room, sitting on the arm of the couch. William followed to stand next to her. She took his hand again as she was dialing.

"Wade...it's Kim. M-my God, Angelica is _dead,_ Wade!" she said, her voice trailing into sobs again. "I just found out....William....he's the Flesher I crossed to last night....I know...I know....I can't believe it either....Wade, please tell Ron I'll try to call him tomorrow..." she looked up at William, who nodded his approval...there was no other response.

Kim looked down again. "Yes...please...thank you, Wade...I'll try to email you in the next couple of days...bye."

She replaced the phone the receiver, and stood up, facing William. She then suddenly dropped his hand and fell against him, her arms wrapping tightly around him.

He could feel her shuddering as his arms enclosed her. Then she took in a huge rush of air. "This is so wrong!" she said against his chest, her words broken, jumping and stuttering through her sobs. "Angelica was my friend...she was everybody's friend! She was there each time someone did their first cross...she was there every time someone was sent back...she was always there...and now she's not...this HURTS, William...this hurts so _BAAaa-a-a-ad..._" her voice collapsed into open crying now, reverberating through his chest. She embraced him tighter. William brought one hand up, stroking her face, following the shape of her head....curling in the red mane of her hair. William then felt his own tears trickling down...

to be continued...


	14. Reflections of a Friend

  
  
**14. Reflections of a Friend...**

They stood there embracing for a long while after the phone call to Wade. William motioned Kim to the couch and they sat, still in each others' arms. Kim drifted in and out of crying fits for nearly an hour, talking softly in between with her head on William's chest, still in disbelief that Angelica was really gone. Each time the tears returned, Kim would tighten her embrace, one arm around his back, the other at his shoulder. her hands curling into fists against his shirt, sometimes pounding against his chest. William could really find little to console her. He knew he couldn't stop the torrent of emotion over the loss of her friend - the best he could do was to be here for her.

One of his hands held her free arm just above the elbow. He would stroke her hair slowly with the other. When Kim broke down, he would place his other hand either against her head, his fingers sinking into the softness of her hair just behind her ear, or down to where her neck and shoulder meet. He would hold her against him as she cried, trying to absorb the sobs that were racking her body under his touch - he was trying to absorb the hurt.

9:42 PM.  
Kim had cried herself to sleep. In subconscious movement she slid down slowly, slipping from William's embrace, but with her fingers lingering on his forearm. She now lay on her side, facing the back of the couch, knees drawn up. William took a small round pillow leaning against the wall from the top of the couch, and carefully tried to raise her head. Kim stirred, looking toward William with half-opened eyes crimson with emotion. "Shhhhhhh..." he said, slipping the pillow under her head from behind. She nodded slightly, and settled onto the pillow, one edge of which was propped against his leg. Her face was still like cream, even though showing effects of having been through an emotional upheaval. Her mouth was inverted into a deep frown. The skin of her cheeks was trailed with tears, and there was a small crease of tension between her eyebrows. Kim fell back into sleep almost immediately, emotionally exhausted.

William hadn't thought much about Angelica since he and Kim exchanged introductions...but now some of the memories of his two encounters with the strange little woman began to pop into his mind like flashbulbs. Her energetic, optimistic personality. the quick pace of her voice, with that Kirstie-Alley crack. The insistence of her motions - how she always had acted as if "no" wasn't in her vocabulary.

_"Hiya William, I'm Angelica. Angelica Guardia. Are ya sure you're okay?" _

The spontaneous irreverance of her humor.

_"Why...what's Sunday?" "The day after Saturday and the day before Monday." _

_"What are ya looking in THERE for? I'm not THAT desperate!" _

The ever-present, almost inescapable warmth of her handshake, which she used as if it were a bond, a link during conversation. Her uncanny ability to have information that she had never been offered, knowing about William's "secret wish."

_"Ya ever seen or met a Celler, William?" _

William remembered the odd mix of conflicting points which seemed to cloud Angelica's true orgins...dressed in the garb of a homeless person, yet showing none of the signs that would suggest living on the streets. A person with perfect teeth - wearing an old Army jacket and 100,000-mile tennis shoes. Handwriting that would make commercial printers envious - on a grocery bag.

A light afternoon breeze from the Mediterranean licked at William's hair as he sat at a small table on a balcony. France in the spring always held a beckoning. The Eden Hotel overlooked the Bay of Angels in Nice, and was just close enough that one could catch a whiff of the ocean, accentuating the expansive view of the Med.

William sipped at his espresso, wondering about a slight uneasiness in his stomach. He dismissed it as acid in the beverage, and the fact that he hadn't ordered lunch yet. A waiter lightly touched William on the shoulder. "Vous avez un invité, Monsieur," the waiter said.

_A guest? I hadn't really expected anyone, _thought William. "Oui, s'il vous plaît. Merci."

A small woman walked past William's shoulder. She was in a long v-cut dress of silver satin...her blonde hair parted on the side, swept behind her ears, the front arching down across her forehead. She reached for his hand as she sat.

"Hiya William!"

Angelica.

William returned her grasp; then went to pinch himself with his free hand.

"Naahh, don't do that," Angelica said, giggling. "Ya wouldn't feel it whether it was a dream or not."

"Angelica, how--"

"Check out these duds, huh?" said Angelica, tugging on the sleeve of her dress with her free hand. "They don't even sell anything like this at the square. Ya'd have to go uptown to find something this neat!" She then extended her leg, showing those 100,000-mile tennis shoes, and smiling. "Some things are hard to part with, ya know? Even if I got knocked clean out of 'em."

"Angelica..." William stammered. "I don't even _understand_ French, much less _speak_ it."

"Hey, when in Rome - or France in this case," she tittered.

William tried to retain his composure, as well as his manners. "Should I...order you something...?"

Angelica waved her hand. "Nah. I'm not stayin' long. And neither are you, for that matter. So ya'd better finish that fancy coffee, if ya want it. HEY, how about that Kim, huh?? Huh??" she said, patting his hand firmly to punctuate. "Listen, William. I just wanted to tell ya that ye're doing everything exactly right. Ye're just being yerself...but I knew that about ya already. Just like I felt from the beginning, William...ya didn't seem like the kinda person to let someone down, and ya ain't! Ya ain't!"

A million questions crowded William's mind, clamoring to be first to burst forth. The winner was vanilla, but didn't even get a chance out of the gate. Angelica lowered her voice and spoke in a clear tone, just as when she gave him the items for the cross.

"William...this is really hard on Kim, but I don't have to tell you that. You're so attentive...so caring. I know you're trying to help her through this as best you can...and what you're doing is exactly what Kim needs right now, so keep right on doing it. I'll help out there, too. I'll talk to her, same as I'm talking to you."

William opened his mouth to try to speak again.

"Ohh, and William?" She patted his hand again. "I know you're a little scared. But don't be. She needs to know your heart, William - just as you're hoping to know hers. That's a two-way street. And she won't just go 'poof.' Well...you already know what it would take for that to happen...but I think you've both covered that, and dealt with it just beautifully. There's a time for everything - you know that. And sometimes, that time comes before you think you're completely ready for it. It's like a train, William. You can be so worried about making sure you have your ticket, that you miss the train. Do you understand, William?"

He hesitated a moment; then nodded slowly.

"There ya go!" Angelica perked, slapping William's hand lightly. "Remember William - a dove can't fly without both of its wings." She then reached across the table. "Now, _TAKE OFF!_" she said, thudding the heel of her hand against his forehead.

"An--"

1:14 AM.  
"--gelica."

William awoke with a start to the familiar surroundings of his living room. He reached up to feel his forehead - the slightest tenderness, as if he had been struck there. There was also a vague uncomfort in his mid-section - but this time he could explain that.

William eased to a standing position from the couch, sliding his leg from under the edge of the pillow and his arm from under Kim's hand. Kim didn't awaken, but stirred a bit, sliding her left hand near her face, curling her fingers to clutch the pillow slightly.

William padded softly to the bathroom. When he came out, he went into the bedroom. Kim had hung up all her new clothes except for the outfit William had picked out, similar to her "mission clothes." The olive cargo pants were at a corner on the foot of the bed, neatly folded twice, with the black top in a small square on top of them, and the black slippers on top of that. Kim had taken a post-it note from his desk, and scrawled on it - "Cute" - and stuck it to the slippers. It was underlined. It was written neatly in block letters, a faint wisp connecting each of them, as if the pen hadn't been lifted completely from the paper.

William noticed another post-it on the upper corner of his computer monitor, this one in cursive - "email Wade soon (W will make new email account - just for me!); get more stuff on the cross for W." "W" he read again, and smiled. This was obviously written before Kim had gotten the news about Angelica.

William studied her handwriting, which was very neat, but not as printer-perfect as Angelica's. The loops of her letters were very full and rounded, except for her lower-case "L's," which were one straight line with a curve to the right at the bottom, and not connected to the letters on either side. Her "F's" were the same, but extended a bit further downward, with a line through them. He also noticed that the lower loop of her "G" was not closed, but an arc to the left, below the words; and the dot of each "I" and the bottom of the exclamation point were tiny happy faces.

William then turned his attention to the corner of the desk, where Kim had stacked her toiletries on top of the small mirror, which was what he was after. He moved the items and picked up the mirror. Kim should know how the unicorn fit into all this--

"William!??"

Kim's startled voice jumped from the living room.

"_William!!_"

William rushed out of the bedroom, still holding the mirror. "I'm here, Kim - are you okay?"

Kim was sitting up, one foot on the floor, her hand to her forehead. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you by yelling. I...I woke up, and you weren't here. I thought you had left. I guess I'm...I feel a little vunerable right now. I'm sorry."

William sat back down beside Kim, his hand slowly caressng her back. "Shhhh. You don't have to apologize. I thought you were going to sleep through the night."

"How long did I sleep?"

"Almost four hours. I dropped off a little bit after you did."

"I was sleeping so hard," she said, blinking hard and hanging her head a bit.

"You deserved it."

Kim sat for a moment; then, "I...had a dream about--"

"Yeah...me too." William said, half-interrupting.

"French Riviera?"

"Overlooking a bay in Nice."

They looked at each other.

"She..." started Kim. "Oh man, this is _SO_ weird. She showed me the table where you sat. You didn't finish your espresso."

William's eyes widened. "I was going to pinch myself, to make sure it was a dream. She told me not to...that I wouldn't feel it, dream or not."

Kim then noticed William looking rather closely at her forehead. "What, do you see something?" she asked.

"I was just looking to see if she had thumped you as hard as she thumped me," he replied.

A small smile escaped from Kim's face. "She thumped you?"

"With the heel of her hand. That's when I woke up...and my forehead is a bit tender."

"No way," she said. "Let me see."

"Way." William leaned toward Kim and presented his face. she slowly let her fingers drift over his forehead.

William's breath caught for a second. Her touch, now softer, felt like the gentle breeze of a spring day across his skin.

"There _is_ a little redness," said Kim, a small touch of concern in her voice. She pressed a little on the spot.

"ow..?" said William, half-feigning pain, while realizing that the place she pressed actually felt like he really had been thumped on the forehead.

"Awww," Kim cooed, sliding her hands to either side of his face.

A flush raced through William's body. _She's not gonna-- _

He closed his eyes as she drew near.

Ripples of warmth spread over his face like a pebble dropped into a lucid pond as her lips alit on his forehead. Her kiss was silk.

...what thump?

William could swear he heard "Better?" somewhere in the distance as Kim's hands slipped from his face, seeming to linger there just a bit before leaving. Reality rose to anchor his feet as he opened his eyes. Kim smiled warmly at him.

"...yeah."

"William," said Kim. "I have a little favor to ask." She was now facing him with her feet under her, her hands on her knees.

"Hm?"

"Can you get the stuff that Angelica gave you? Please? I'd like to look at them for a while, and...talk about her, if that's okay with you. I think remembering would help."

"Sure." he said, standing.

"Everything but the vial," she added quickly.

William smiled at her for a couple of seconds, then turned for the bedroom, retrieving the items from the nightstand. He sat again. Kim moved the pillow to lean against his leg again and laid down, pulling an afghan from the back of the couch and spreading it over herself. William put the items on the couch in front of her.

Kim reached to take the mirror from the coffee table. She studied it, her fingers drifting over the winged unicorn painted on it, and the logo above it, in gold script, "Bound Dreams." There were also words under the image - "Give Your Wishes Wings."

"That's a bookstore in the market square near here," William explained. "That's where I first ran into Angelica - literally. It was right after I had bought, umm, 'your' books."

"Bueno Nacho and The New Ron."

"Yeah."

They both uttered the same phrase spontaneously - "Goooood little naked mole raaaat." - which caused them both to laugh softly.

"I get it," Kim said, continuing to look at the mirror. "That's how Angelica was. She intertwined everything into a 'theme' when she contacted Fleshers for a Cross. Every little bit of it had some relevance. She picked you, William - and she picked that bookstore, just for the logo." She then tilted the mirror until he saw her face. "Hi there," she smiled. William returned a smile.

"She knew things about me before we had even talked. She guessed my name."

"Oh, she would research for weeks before approaching a Flesher. She wanted to be absolutely sure of everything before she made first contact with them."

"There were things about her ," said William. "I mean...she was dressed like a street person...but there wasn't anything about her herself that suggested that. She was very...clean."

"Well...would you have accepted her more readily if she had appeared to you out of nowhere, dressed in a flowing gown? You probably would have freaked."

"Yeah...probably," he nodded.

Kim placed the mirror back on the table and picked up the box, opening it. She let her fingers drift over the satin cloth inside. "Angelica sure loves-- loved...the color silver," she said, closing the box and turning it slowly in her hands. "Untying the string and opening the box during the ritual is meant to stand for...unraveling the mystery of her gift." Kim then shifted to her side, her back against the couch. "Angelica was big on pomp and dramatics. The whole thing was like a production for her."

Pomp and dramatics.

"That's exactly what I thought," he said. "I thought the vial was cologne, at first."

Kim gently set the box back on the couch, and picked up the candle. "Funny you mention cologne," she said. She then brought the candle under her nose and inhaled, slowly and deeply. "I'm sure you've noticed the fragrance of vanilla by now."

"Yes, the candle...I've even smelled it on you."

Kim raised her arm over her head, offering it to William. He cradled the back of her hand in his, and brought her forearm to his nose, hovering over her skin...taking in her essence. He dared to brush his lips ever-so-lightly against the inside of her wrist. He felt her fingers curl around his thumb in response. He let her arm slip back down.

"It's another part of the 'theme'," she continued. "Each Celler gets to choose one fragrance. You like?"

"Mm-hm."

"I almost picked jasmine...but that's a little, umm...strong when it's concentrated. I wanted a soft, warm scent for me."

_Good call,_ he thought. "It almost reminds me of French toast," he said.

"Yeah! That's what I thought, too!" Kim replied, tilting her head to look back at him.

Kim set the candle down and opened the scroll, reading it. "God, I love this. Could she write or what?" she said. She pointed to the third line of the incantation. "This part gives me goosebumps every time I read it...'The Candle falls before the Wind; The Mirror falls behind you; The Reflections of Reality tear asunder twice-dimensioned views;'." Her voice floated William back to Sunday night. She then looked over the scroll as a whole. "Her penmanship was so way perfect."

"Is the incantation always the same?" asked William.

"So not," said Kim. "You know, there are hundreds and hundreds of Cellers - and Angelica wrote a different incantion for every single one. Each is unique, so it brings only that specific Celler through the Cross when it's read."

"Will...anything happen if you read the entire incantation aloud? After the Cross, I mean."

"No. The only way it can have an effect is if all the other conditions are set up as per The Rules," she said. "You could shout this in the street, and nothing would happen."

William felt like shouting in the street, alright - but not the incantation. "She wrote it on an old grocery bag," he said - then stood slowly, taking a step to the bookcase and leaning to take "Bueno Nacho" from the shelf. He opened the book and unfolded the bookmark, showing the image of herself to Kim. "She gave me this the night we met. Feels like it was done on a grocery bag, too," he said.

She rubbed the paper between her thumb and forefinger. "That's part of the acceptance thing," she said. "She could have done this on the most luxurious paper you've ever seen, and written everything in gold leaf, if she wanted to. But this way, it fits in with the 'street person' she tried to present herself as...and not making it feel like some fairy tale."

Kim rerolled the scroll and placed it and the other items on the table. Then she sat up and faced William, wrapping the afghan around her. She looked down a bit, her eyes less red now. Her expression softened somewhat.

"William...?"

"Yes?"

She lifted her eyes to his, speaking softly. "William...I have to say this, because it's what I feel right now. A lot of times to a Flesher, the Cross is...well, kind of like that fairy tale atmosphere - and when we cross, we're looked at with that whole 'ooh and ahh' thing...you know? Those are the crosses that never last too long." He nodded as she continued. "They're not all like that...but...this feels...different. With you...I don't know...I feel less like a 'wonderment', and more like a guest. You've welcomed me almost as if you were kind of expecting me. And all the clothes and stuff...you've treated me like I walked through your front door instead of through your mirror. William...I guess what I'm trying to say is that I feel...special here. Like I actually belong here." She leaned to him, bringing the afghan over them both, slipping her arms around him and laying her head on his chest. William felt the ripples again, and folded his arms around her.

Kim continued. "When you told me about Angelica...it hit me so hard. I just...lost it. I'm sorry."

"Please don't apologize," said William, brushing a lock of her hair up from her eyes. "You don't have anything to be sorry for. If anyone, it should be me who's sorry, for breaking the news to you like that. I never want to make you feel like that again, Kim."

"No, William," said Kim. "Don't be sorry. I would have found out eventually, from someone. But when I came apart like that...you felt that I was hurting. You were here for me. That's never happened before. Ever."

Kim slid her arms further around William and settled her head a little more into his chest, moving her shoulder closer. William stroked her hair slowly. "I am here, Kim," he said softly.

"I am here too, William," she said, wiping a small tear from her cheek - but instead of a pained expression, this tear was accompanied by a soft smile. "And the more time that passes...the more happy I am of that. Thank you William...thank you." She drifted to sleep in his arms.

_Thank you, Angelica,_ William thought to himself. As he slipped into sleep himself, William thought he heard the far-off whistle of an approaching train, rounding that last long bend...slowing as it prepared to pull into the station. He patted the ticket in his vest pocket.

3:38 AM.  
to be continued...


	15. Oops

  
  
**15. Oops **

9:02 AM, Tuesday.  
Kim awoke slowly and calmly, somewhat cleansed of the emotional flood of last night. The long talk with William, and the surreal dream (?) with Angelica went a long way to help. Kim thought about the uncanny correlation between William's dream and hers - but then, through the months that she had known her, Kim came to accept that she shouldn't be surprised about much that Angelica did - or could - do.

She quietly sat up and looked at William, who was still sound asleep. His expression was calm and soft. Sleep well-deserved, she thought, after the roller coaster she had put him through the night before. Kim wasn't usually the type to impose on others, especially when it came to her emotions; But the news of Angelica's death had taken her from the blind side, overwhelming her ability to control herself. It was rare - but last night, Kim needed help with her loss. She needed someone to be there.

And William was there. He said nothing about her using his phone. He tried to console her. It was more than just being kind - Wiliam actually seemed to care - he showed concern over her grief. He had ridden that roller coaster with her, instead of just being a bystander, watching her take that scary ride. Kim broke into a small smile. She was indeed glad to be here with William.

William was asleep. This would be a good time, she thought, to try to call Ron.

Kim slowly stood and draped the afghan over William. She sat on the floor in front of the end table and dialed the phone, glancing up at William again while she counted four rings.

"Hi there," she spoke in a lowered voice. "It's me...yes, I heard...I called Wade right after I found out...he must have called you right afterward. I know it bites...it really does...a drunk driver hit her...I don't know too many details about it, but I'll try to find out more, if I can...please don't cry, Ron." She swept a tear from her own cheek.

"You have to be strong, for me...and for Angelica. There are a lot of people there who you can talk to...you'll be okay. I know you will. Try to find and talk with Misty...I think she knew Angelica best."

Kim let out a long sigh and brushed her hair back with her fingers. "Yeah...I'm okay...I'm doing better, especially this morning...yeah...Sunday night...William...he's the one who told me...he really helped when I lost it...he's neat, Ron...I think you'd like him...he bought me a ton of clothes yesterday, and get this - he fixed steak for dinner last night...yes, steak! It was so big, I couldn't eat it all! And he even had Wor-chester--Worster--that sauce I really like...just dreamy, Ron...I could almost cut it with fork, and it just melted in--"

The phone beeped. Kim reacted instinctively. "Incoming call, Ron. I'll email you in a day or so and tell you more. 'K, bye." She pressed the "flash" button - and winced immediately, gritting her teeth, realizing what she did.

A pregnant silence. Then--a cautious "Hello?"

"Hello? Good morning," a rather cheery voice on the other end said.

"Uhhh...good morning?"

"This is David Morris. Is William Hodge there, please."

"Y-yes," said Kim, trying to contain a small flash of panic. "Just one moment, please."

William was wakened by Kim, her hand on his shoulder, nudging him to and fro, her other hand covering the mouthpiece. "William...William? It's your boss!"

He stirred for a quick second - then snapped fully awake. "I was on the phone with Ron, and he beeped in. I clicked over before even thinking," said Kim in a slightly frantic whisper, still wincing and extending her arm, offering the phone to William.

He held up his hand, waving it slightly. "There's no problem," he said almost in a whisper, and took the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi William. David Morris here. I'm on conference with Lee in Data Operations. Just wanted to give you the setup for you to dial in. Do you have a pen and paper?"

William reached to the table for a pad and clicked a pen, readying it against the paper. "Go, Lee."

William had never met Lee in person, but had talked with him several times on the phone, when snags came up with files or operations in the department. The gruff voice of the older man came over the phone. "Hey William, how ya doin'. Here's the info for your access. You want to get to a command prompt. Ya know how to do that?"

Lee was the type who had to talk everyone through everything before he could be satisfied that it was done "right." He just couldn't grasp that other people might be computer literate, too. "Yes," William replied, trying to resist returning the same condescending tone.

"Okay, when ya open that, type in 'telnet'...t-e-l-n-e-t. Then a space...and then these numbers: 213-dot-87-dot-45-dot-112. The dot is the same as the period, ya know."

William jotted down the IP; then flipped to another sheet, wrote something quickly and showed it to Kim, who had sat on the couch next to him, still a little apprehensive about David hearing her. The paper read, "Lee - BOSSY - nag nag nag." He then rolled his eyes. Kim brought her hand over her mouth to try to stifle a giggle. William flipped the sheet back over. "Okay Lee."

"Then ya get to a login screen. I set your username as the capital letter 'W' - then an underscore, that's a shift-and-the-dash-key - then capital 'H' and little 'o-d-g-e.'

"Gosh, Lee," said William as he finished writing the username. "That's the same as my last name!" He heard a muffled snicker from David. He turned to Kim, whose hand was still over her mouth. Her eyes had narrowed and she was bouncing slightly with laughter. He pointed to the phone, then swept his hand over his head in a 'whoosh' motion. A small squeak escaped from Kim. She grabbed the pillow from the couch and hugged it against her, her eyes peeking over the top.

Lee continued. "Now your password William. It's 'rookie,' all in little letters. 'r-o-o-k-i-e.' Don't let _anyone_ else see that, William."

_Duhhh..._

William looked at Kim again with a wide grin, pointed to the phone, and brought the back of his hand to his forehead, thumb and forefinger extended into the letter "L." Kim couldn't help but laugh into the pillow - "hmmm-hm-hm-hm-hmmm."

"Ya got that, William?" said Lee. "If ya have any problems or forget something, you can call David or me. Talk to ya later."

"Thanks, Lee," he replied.

William then heard the click as the conference closed. "Heh. Ya gooot thaaaat, Willlliaaaaam?" mocked David.

William snickered. "Yeah. He's a real piece of work."

"True. But he keeps the place running like a clock - even if it is a cuckoo clock."

William laughed out loud. "Yep. Okay. I'll start looking for the data about 12:30...and you should have the reports in your inbox no later than 3:30."

"I'll look forward to those," said David. Alright, you're all set. Go get 'em."

William was about to hang up when David added, "William?"

"Hm?"

"The girl who first answered the phone...was that your 'company'?"

"Yep. Her name's Kim," he said, looking over at her. She poked his arm, lowering the pillow slightly, her chin resting on it, her eyes as wide as saucers.

"Does she look anywhere near as good as she sounds?" asked David jokingly.

William turned to Kim, looking her over slowly. "Yes....yes, I'd have to say she does." Kim's mouth dropped open.

"Hmmm," David said. "Think she has a sister?"

Now William's jaw dropped. He pointed to the phone repeatedly while sticking out his tongue. "No, I'm pretty sure she doesn't have a sister--"

Kim quickly bit the top of the pillow and froze, her eyes still wide and tearing a little from laughing.

"--but she has this friend - Bonnie, I think her name is - I could try to hook you up with her."

Kim threw herself back onto the couch, one hand holding the pillow over her face, the other arm clutching her stomach, trying to hold back her laughter. She kicked her legs out, shaking them in the air. A well-muffled "uurrrggghhh," broken with laughter, came from the pillow.

"Sounds like a plan," David said. William had to bite his lower lip.

"Okay, David. Thanks again for letting me set this up. Later."

William held the phone out in Kim's direction and pressed the button, so she could hear the "beep" as he hung up. All he said was, "Clear."

It was like a Pavlovian starter's bell.

"_AHH, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!_" Kim's body jerked as her laughter broke free, pealing through the apartment. She rolled to her side, still laughing loudly. Her eyes were tightly closed and her face began to turn red. She gasped, "You _SO!_ did not say that to your boss!"

"Hey - he asked," said William through his own laughter.

Kim exhaled with a burst, her mouth wide open as she turned and fell from the couch onto her knees, the last of her breath turning to more laughter.

This was the other end of the spectrum from last night, thought William - and he would rather make her feel like this any day.

Kim rose to the couch again, nearly breathless from her laughter, and curled her arms tightly around William. "That was just too great," she cooed by his ear. "You rock, William."

"We needed that," William agreed. He needed this, too - Kim's touch was now flowing with warmth, immersing him.

Kim drew back, smiling widely. "Yeah." Then - "Whoa."

"Hm?"

"Know what would be totally weird?" she said. "What if David believed in Cellers, too? Then he really _could _meet Bonnie."

"I have no idea," replied William. "But..I thought you said that evil Cellers couldn't do the Cross."

Kim giggled in falsetto, wiping an eye with the back of her finger. "Bonnie's not evil - just jealous."

"I've never really met David - and I wouldn't be sure how to approach him with the concept. Although..." he paused.

"What?"

"He...did ask if you looked as good as you sounded on the phone."

Kim blushed and turned away slightly. "That's....that's when you looked at me and told him 'yes, I'd have to say she does'?" she asked.

William nodded, smiling.

Kim smiled again, looking up at him. "You know, there's a list of crosses the agents have. I could get Wade to check it when I email him. What's David's last name again? Morris?"

"Yeah."

"I'll ask him then."

William's face then shifted to a mock pout. Kim pulled away again. "William...? What's wrong??"

"Hmph. I'll bet _BONNIE _would let _DAVID _serve roasted skunk butt in a light hollandaise."

Kim gave a thoughtful look for a few seconds, her finger to her lips. Then her mouth curled into an evil grin. "Nooo," she said. "That would be too much like....cannabalism or something."

"Meee-yow!" William said, smiling and curling his hand into a claw, making small swipes and little "f-f-f-fft" noises in Kim's direction. "Now who's evil?"

"I'm not evil," said Kim, patting her hand flat on his chest rather firmly and pushing off to stand. "I'm hungry!"

William put his hand on his knees and bent forward to get up from the couch "Well...let's see what I can fix--"

Kim put her hands on his shoulders and pinned him back into a sitting position, leaning over him. "Nonononononono," she said, wagging her finger. "I like to cook - but I don't get much chance to do any of it." She tapped the pad of her finger on the tip of his nose. "_I'm_ making breakfast." She stood up and went to the kitchen.

William thought for a second about how he and Kim were interacting - how they were meshing so easily. "Celler food requires no cooking?" he asked.

"So not," said Kim, leaning her face back into the living room. Then she disappeared into the kitchen, her hair flourishing behind her like a short red contrail.

William wondered if there was any traffic approaching in the other lane of the two-way street.

A clatter snatched him back to reality. He stood up quickly. "Kim??"

"No no - you sit down," she said from the other room. "I just dropped a pan. It's okay. You just stay in there. I want to surprise you."

William sat back down. He thought about the gamut of emotions that Kim had gone through in just the last 12 or so hours...and how easily the current of those emotions sucked him into their undertow. His mind went back to when he lost his parents four years ago - and how hard that hit him. Perhaps that acted to help William with helping Kim through her loss - he'd been there before. Even though it seemed too strange to be true or rational, he also wondered how much the dream with Angelica helped Kim, and what Angelica "said" to her that seemed to calm her and help her through this trauma; God knows he didn't have much to offer. No words of condolence. He was basically just there, someone to hold onto during a vunerable time. He wished he was better at the "feel good" phrases that people seem to want to hear when they were dealing with a loss.

William thought about how quickly Kim seemed to bounce back - crying her eyes out last night - laughing her head off the next morning. He tried to compare it with the way Wyle E. Coyote always got up and walked away after falling off a tall cliff and making a three-foot deep hole when he hit.

He mentally slapped himself. Shame on you.

"William? Where are your spices?"

"Uhhh....cupboard between the stove and the sink."

"Thanks."

William sat back, taking in the industrious sounds and smells coming from his kitchen - the refrigerator opening and closing several times; the quick rhythm of a metal whisk against a bowl; the faint hint of cinnamon; the soft language of things placed on a hot griddle; cupboards opening and closing, and the sounds of items inside those cupboards as they were removed.

William thought for a moment that the ambient aroma of vanilla that had been added to the apartment with Kim's arrival was a little stronger than usual. He wondered if she perspired vanilla, too.

"Are you ready?" a bright voice called from the kitchen.

"For anything." he replied.

Kim walked into the living room, drying her hands on a dishtowel, and placing it on the back of the tall chair on this side of the breakfast nook. She held out her hand and pulled William to his feet.

William pointed to a white powdery spot on her nose. "Flour? Or powdered sugar?"

She crossed her eyes to look at the end of her nose and giggled. Then she tapped her index finger against the spot, and turned her hand, presenting her finger to William. "You tell me," she said.

He brought her finger to his mouth, kissing it lightly. The powder could now be drain cleaner for all he cared. He applied just the slightest suction to the tip of her finger to remove the rest of the substance, and watched her other fingers curl in as he did. He then pulled back, smacking his lips a couple of times, trying to look like he was weighing evidence. "Inconclusive," he said.

"Try again," said Kim, touching her fingertip to her nose again.

William heard the barest tone of a faint train whistle.

He took her hand...moved it slightly to the side...and bent down. It was at this moment that he wished his aim would be just a bit off.

He pressed his lips against the tip of her nose for a second - swimming in the mix of Kim's essence and the warmth of her face, now so near - then straightened up, smacking his lips and looking thoughtful again.

There was a rather surprised expression on Kim's face - just for a second - then she looked up at him coyly, a slight blush to her cheeks. "Well?"

"I'm not sure," said William, still pretending to study the taste. "It...might be sugar - but I'm confused. Perhaps if I were to taste it again when it's not on you."

"Awww, William," she cooed. "That's sweet."

"Oh. Must be sugar, then," he smirked.

"Heh. You," she grinned. "C'mon. Breakfast will get cold. Turn around." She reached up from behind and covered his eyes, walking him around to the chair on the kitchen side of the nook. "Don't peek."

William sat and moved the backgammon board out of the way, letting the pieces from one side slide into the other and closing it. Kim then slipped a plate past William's shoulder and set it in front of him. Three pieces of french toast, a rich shade of gold, each with a thin pat of butter and a sprinkling of powdered sugar, and a criss-cross of syrup.

"Wow," William managed to get out.

"Please wait until I sit down," said Kim. "I want your unbiased opinion." She brought her plate, the jug of juice and two glasses, and sat opposite him. She had made herself two slices.

William cut a corner from one of the slices. Kim sat, her hands together, fingers spread, her chin resting on her thumbs, watching.

The taste made love to his tongue. He picked up the softness of vanilla as it fought with the syrup for his taste buds. The powdered sugar made its presence known as well, while hints of cinnamon danced about, flitting here and there in his mouth. The inside of the bread was neither soggy nor dry - just the perfect inviting silkiness that melted in his mouth.

William's eyes closed as he chewed, then opened slowly. "Is this where I moan now?" he smiled.

"Don't tease," Kim said. "Do you like it?"

"This is scrumptious, Kim," he replied, cutting another bite.

Kim raised her head proudly, then cut into her own toast.

"Kim?"

"Mmmm-hmm? Yes?"

"You mentioned the vanilla as a 'fragrance'," asked William. Kim nodded, and he continued. "Am I correct in thinking that it's...more than just a frgrance?"

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"Well--" William searched for a bit of tact. "I've noticed the vanilla ever since you arrived...and even before, with the candle. But when you were in here cooking, the scent seemed to be a little...stronger. That's all." William knew that couldn't have come out right.

Kim giggled for a second, then narrowed her eyes at him, with a small grin on her face, tipping her fork at him. "You're saying you think I worked up a sweat. Is that it, Mr. Hodge?"

"No! No!" he tried to evade slightly, then coughed, mocking a statesman about to make a speech. "It was merely an observation, Miss Possible," he said in a deep voice, noting that was the first time either of them had spoken the others' last name aloud. "I didn't mean to accuse you of- I didn't think-"

"That _is_ what you think, isn't it?" she interrupted, grinning a little wider.

His shoulders drooped. He smiled a bit, squeaking out a "yes.."

"Oh," Kim replied, satisfied that he knew she wasn't offended. "Yeah, it's more than just something you would spray on. It becomes a...part of us, until we choose a different fragrance." She took another bite and added, "And you _do_ know that there's vanilla in the french toast, don't you?"

Another meek "yes," with a little more of a smile.

Kim chewed her bite thoughtfully. "You know, now that I think about it, this could have used just a touch more vanilla. But, there was only about a tablespoon left in the bottle."

William swallowed another bite and, while he knew she was playing, decided to get in a small compliment to 'get himself out'. "It's still great, Kim. But...you could have just breathed on the toast. That may have given it just that extra touch."

"Awwwww," she purred. "You're forgiven - not that I think you really would try to offend me anyway."

"You're right there," said William. "Say, I wanted to ask...why'd you freak when you took the call from work this morning?"

"Well," Kim said slowly, "I...didn't know if you wanted anyone to know about me."

"It's okay," he said. "I'm sure it was bound to happen sooner or later."

"But...remember how you said you'd never heard of this ever happening before? You know? Flying saucers landing in big cities?"

"Yep. I also remember how they said the 'horseless carriage' would never catch on either, and they said it 'scared the horses'," said Wiliam, taking the last bite of his breakfast. He then looked into Kim's eyes. She had a rather surprised look on her face. "I want you to know, Kim - the last thing I would ever be is ashamed of you. And besides - you're going to go stir crazy staying in this apartment all the time."

Kim didn't know what to think of William's statement. He seemed so matter-of-fact about something that no Flesher had _ever_ done - or had the courage to even think to attempt. She then thought that there were quite a few things about William that no Flesher had done after a Cross before. She couldn't dismiss it as just naivete on William's part. Not after he had so seamlessly welcomed her into his environment, after the initial shock of her walking out of the mirror. Not after the time and effort he spent over the first few days welcoming her into his life. Not after the effort he spent the previous night trying to ease the blow of Angelica's death. It was as if -

- as if William seemed willing to do what it took to please Kim; to make her comfortable; to make her feel not as entertainment or fantasy - but a part of his life...and now he was talking about exposing her to the entire rest of his environment. Kim began to think about just what made up the man she had crossed to. What was in his head - and in his heart.

Kim looked both ways for oncoming traffic while waiting at the stop sign, so she could ease out onto the two-way street.

Her thoughts were broken with William tapping her hand. "You okay?" he said. "I hope you didn't freak over what I said." He took the plates to the sink and ran a little water over them. He turned to get the juice glasses--

And Kim was _right there_. She embraced him warmly. "Thank you, William," she said softly. "Thank you."

"What?" smiled William, clasping his fingers across her shoulders. "You're the one who made breakfast, not me...and a very delicious one at that. I should be thanking you."

Kim pulled away to look at him. William returned her stare, wondering what was going through her mind, after what he said about her meeting the rest of the world at some point.

William glanced at the wall clock. 10:41 AM. He looked back to Kim and grinned sheepishly. "I'll bet I don't smell much like vanilla right now. I've been wearing these jeans for three days."

Kim chuckled. "You need a fragrance!" she piped.

"I need a shower," William laughed. "Then I need to dial in to work. I can look over yesterday's reports while I'm waiting for today's stuff to start coming in."

He got the glasses from the nook and put them beside the sink, then looked at the stack of dishes. "I'll start on these after dinner tonight. Might as well have a _big_ pile," he smiled.

"I can start on them right now," Kim offered. "Then I'll take a shower. Save me some hot waaaa-terr..." Her face began to drift into that dreamy expression again, her smile spreading.

"Breakfast was wonderful," said William. "Thanks again." He reached down and placed a small kiss on her cheek as if it were an accepted fact that it belonged there. William would later remark to himself that it almost seemed as if Kim had pushed slightly against his lips.

There could never be enough vanilla in this house, he thought as he went to the bedroom for fresh clothes; then he returned to just inside the kitchen.

"Kim?"

"Yes?"

"Did you make both your calls on the phone in the living room?"

"You know I did. Why?"

"I was just wondering...does that make it a--'celler phone' now? I never had one before."

Kim put her hand to her face and hung her head. "Ewwwww, that pun reeked!"

William smirked. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...pun-ish you."

"Owww!" Kim exclaimed. "William!" She grabbed a dish towel from the back of the chair and flung it at him, giggling.

"I better go shower - and then pun-ch in," he said. "I like to be pun-ctual, you know."

"_URRGGH!_" she screamed, bolting after him. He raced down the short hallway to the bathroom and slammed the door.

"Very Punny!" she said to the door in mock exasperation. She came back toward the kitchen giggling, stopping to pick up the towel.

"Wooooooo" came from the bathroom. "I'm punny! She thinks I'm punny!"

Kim fell to the floor on her side. She grabbed her stomach, trying to say "Stop" through her laughter.

to be continued...


	16. Q & A

  
  
**16. Q&A ("Faboo!") **

11:11 AM.  
William came out of the shower, rubbing his hair with a towel. He had dressed in a pair of baggy jeans and a short sleeve shirt, which he left untucked. He had stayed under the shower for a long time - trying, he hoped, to wash away the pain of the previous evening. He knew that he would never hope the rest would wash away. Before he left the bathroom, he made space in the medicine cabinet and on the counter around the sink for Kim's things. He moved them from his desk to the counter, attaching a post-it; "K- space for you - in the cabinet, too. W-" He liked her term for quick reference to him that she adopted on the note she had put on the monitor. Just about everything that Kim had done since arriving now stuck with him.

William returned to the bedroom, sitting at his desk. He leaned a bit to the left, looking at the mirror still against the wall. He noticed that the reflection seemed to distort a bit as it neared Kim's outline. He recalled Kim's statement about his dialing in to work - 'Modern technology.' Heh, he thought. 'Modern technology' has a bit of catching up to do. He opened a DOS session and read off the paper for the IP. A bright red logo appeared on the screen on a silverish-blue background. It was the same screen as at work, only for a remote access session.

:::Meridian Remote Login  
username: WHodge  
password: Leeis  
_snicker_ backspace  
rookie  
Login successful. Press Enter to continue.:::

"Look Lee - I goooot iiiit," William chuckled softly while rocking his head in a Rain Man-esque motion. "Yeah...definite login...yeah...I'm a good typer...type very slow on the tel-net."

He went to the Claims & Rec section, entering his station login, and then "Reports." A list came up of Monday's reports - LA1205-1.xls and so on. William clicked on the first one, and a spreadsheet flashed onto his screen.

William heard the stereo come on, tuned to the same pop station; Then Kim's voice wafted from the living room. "Is that too loud?"

William rolled his chair toward the door and stuck his arm into the doorway, making the "OK" sign.

"Cool," came the reply. William rolled back to the desk and started looking over the files. _These aren't too bad,_ he thought. At least they were all there - they just lacked the formatting and other embellishments that he and Marcy had incorporated over about three months. "We've spoiled LA, I think," he said to himself, and began editing title and header fields.

While working, William heard Kim's efforts in the kitchen; the gentle dialogue of plates and glasses as they were returned to the cupboard after drying; the running of water for a fresh sinkful. She must do them like I do, he thought - separate water for the pots and pans. A few minutes later, he heard the sounds of the cookware being stored.

11:49 AM.  
William had finished touching up the previous day's reports, and he left an email to David telling him so, in case he wanted to reprint and send them. He thought making the changes might make them both look good in the long run. While he had the email program open, William decided to keep his promise to Kim, and set up her mail account. He jotted the info down on a post-it, and stuck it on top of her previous note.

William then heard the hall closet open, some hangers being slid about, and the door closing. Kim leaned in the doorway, the pair of pre-faded jeans he had bought and a gray polo shirt folded over her arm.

"Hi there," she said. "Working hard?"

"Not really. The good stuff is about a half-hour away. Then I start formatting the data into reports."

She nodded, then twitched her finger in the direction of the bathroom. "Do you want in here for anything before I take a shower?"

"No, it's all yours," William replied, alt-tabbing to his telnet session for a second. "In fact, I was going to make a little lunch. I can have a sandwich waiting for you when you come out."

Kim leaned slightly against the door frame. A smile spread over her face. "Mmmm. What with?"

"Well," said William, taking a mental inventory of his fridge. "I was thinking of some smoked ham I got the other day...it's sliced really thin...and some Swiss cheese...a little mayo...and some Dijon on the ham side..."

As he listed the ingredients, Kim's eyes slowly closed. She looked like she was enjoying a spring breeze playing on her face. "Yeaahhh," she purred.

"...all on some stone-ground multi-grain bread."

Kim inhaled slowly and deeply through her nose, as if she could smell the sandwich sitting in front of her. "That sounds greeaaat."

William had a strange and humorous image flash through his mind; taking Kim out for a hot fudge sundae, and recreating the diner scene from "When Harry Met Sally." He fought back a chuckle. "Go shower," he smiled.

She turned to the bathroom and closed the door. William stood and started for the kitchen. As he passed the bathroom door, he heard an "Awwww" and a small sigh. He took that as approval of the new space for her things.

Kim tipped open the medicine cabinet and smiled. Of the four shelves, the lower two were empty. "Space for me," she said quietly, remarking again to herself how William was working to make her feel comfortable and welcome. Many times after making the cross, the first acts of a Celler were to calm the Flesher's fears and assure them that they had not just been visited by an alien - and enduring being treated almost like a circus attraction, rather than the result of the Flesher's belief. And if a Celler were to act "out of character," such as her outburst of emotion on Monday night, a Flesher's first reaction was to try to escape the situation; forget dealing with or even interacting. This was why most crosses never lasted more than a few days - and Angelica had warned that outcome was more likely than not, after an event that caused the Celler to act in a way other than the Flesher's "ideal" image of them - their fear of the unknown and unexpected outweighed their belief.

William had reacted exactly the opposite, she thought. His reaction was one of compassion; concern; he actually felt for her when she learned of her loss. He let her pour out her emotions freely - and he didn't run or hide. He was right there to help her through it. That, and the clothes, the fabulous steak on Monday night, letting her cook this morning - and making a place for her things among his own--

Kim smiled as she slid the shower curtain back and pulled off her socks. You got all of this one, Angelica, she thought, turning the "H" faucet...and it looks like it's headed for the fence in left center.

William finished constructing the sandwiches, placing each on a small plate and cutting them down the middle. He put the ingredients away and took a Coke Classic from the fridge, putting it under his forearm, then picking up the plates and two napkins and heading for the bedroom. He set Kim's sandwich on the desk and sat down, checking the "data" folder in his telnet session.

William then heard light singing from the bathroom, just above the flow of the shower. "He's punny...I think he's punny..." Kim had a very smooth singing voice. William felt a tingle flow through him, and he finally had to pinch the smile from his face in order to turn back to concentrating on work.

About five minutes later, the bathroom door opened. "William?" called Kim.

"In here," he replied.

Kim walked in with a large towel twisted on her head, and a brush. She pointed to the sandwich on the corner of the desk. "For me?"

"Yep. Eat up."

Kim took the plate and sat on the edge of the bed, taking a bite. "Mmmm-mm-mm-mm-mmm," she drew out through her chewing. Then she swallowed. "This...is...heavenly," she said. "Aged Swiss is one of my faves."

"I'm glad," said William. "I don't do that processed stuff they try to claim is cheese. It's almost like sliced tofu."

Kim giggled. "Tofu? Heh. Maybe you _DO _know how Celler food tastes - or doesn't."

"That bad, huh?"

"The packaging it comes in probably tastes better," said Kim with a somewhat disgusting look. "The texture is the same, but it tastes...like tofu! Good call." She took another bite of her sandwich, and her expression returned to one of culinary bliss.

Kim then asked, "May I have a drink of your Coke?"

"Sure," he replied, unscrewing the cap part-way and handing her the bottle.

She took a small sip - swallowed - then scrunched her face together, rubbing the bottom of her nose. "The bubbles go right up there," she said. "It always happ- ha- _nnn-ngkk_"

"Bless you," said William, laughing softly. "Want water instead?"

"Please and thank you," she replied, handing the soda back to him and patting the bottom of her nose with the napkin. "I like the taste, but the bubbles always make me sneeze."

William went to the kitchen, clinking a couple of ice cubes into a tall glass, and running the tap to fill it. He asked as he returned, "What about when you drink soda on the show?"

"It's non-carbonated," she said. "And, as with all other Celler food, it has no taste either." She took a long slow drink, tiny whimpers in between each gulp. "Mmmm," she said, handing the glass to William to set on the desk. "On me or in me, that's good stuff."

William smiled. "Water, water everywhere...we even have some to drink," which caused Kim to giggle.

William sat back in the chair and was about to bite into the other half of his sandwich, when the computer beeped. He turned to look. "Hey, Maryland is in early," he said. "Must have been a slow Monday." He clicked on the file and a spreadsheet opened up, sprawling with district names and processing numbers.

Kim leaned forward, looking at the screen. "What do you do with those figures?"

"We're the central office for the Eastern US," William explained. "Data comes in from several states. They're the figures for the previous business day." He pointed to various places on the spreadsheet. "This is the first claim number processed that day, and here is the last. They're sorted by district offices within each state, and then into columns within each district, depending on how the claim was handled - paid, denied, arbitrated - and the dollar totals involved in each action. They have to be compiled into reports that go to the central office in Los Angeles."

"Are there a lot of districts?"

"Over 300 in this region."

"Wow. But it looks mostly like just a lot of addition."

"Yeah, basically. The important thing is making sure the data in the proper columns as it's compiled. One figure in the wrong place, and the company could pay out hundreds of thousands of dollars that it wasn't supposed to or hadn't intended on paying."

"300 districts...must be time-consuming," said Kim.

"It is," he replied. "I start compiling the moment data starts coming in, and the whole thing is about three hours worth of work. The last districts come in by about 2. It's around another hour-and-a-half or so to format and double-check everything. They end up getting sent by about 3:30...12:30 in Los Angeles. Then they get to work budgeting out payouts."

"Sounds like that takes your afternoons," said Kim.

"Yep. In the mornings, as long as there are no discrepancies on the previous day's reports, I process claims like everyone else in the department."

William formatted the data from the first state. As he was nearly finished, the computer beeped twice. He checked the folder. "There's South Carolina and Georgia," he said. He then turned to Kim, who had removed the towel from her head and was brushing through her hair in long strokes, still watching his work. Her plate was empty.

Her eyes perked from the screen to him. "I hope I'm not bothering you," she said.

"Not at all," he said. "On the contrary, I was going to say that this is going to take my concentration for a while. I didn't want you to get bored."

"Oh no. Not bored. It's interesting watching you fling all those figures around." She then gave a little chuckle. "Angelica used to say, 'Work fascinates me - I can just sit and watch it for hours' - even with all the hard work she put into the Crosses." Then Kim's face fell a little. "I miss her," she said,

"Same here," said William.

"But somehow, it's not near as bad this morning," she added.

They reached for each other's hand simultaneously.

Kim broke into a warm smile. "Thanks for being here."

William responded with a smile, and squeezed her hand.

The computer beeped. Kim leaned to look past William's shoulder. "Tennessee," she said. "I'd better let you work."

"You okay?" asked William.

"Yeah," she replied, returning the squeeze, her smile even wider. "I sure am. Work, work!"

William turned back to the screen and dove into South Carolina's figures.

3:26 PM.  
William had the reports done a little early - even New York, often the most difficult state to compile, had reduced volume from Monday. He finished up the last of the attachments to the email to David, and hit the "send" button. "All done," he said, turning around. "You've been so quiet the last hour, I thought you'd--"

Well. She _did_ fall asleep. Kim had folded the towel for a pillow; her hands one on top of the other under her head and her legs were drawn off the floor.

William watched the sleeping girl for a moment. She had such a fragile yet peaceful expression on that cream-silk face, William thought. He almost didn't want to awaken her - but he remembered the frantic tone of her voice on Monday night as she awoke and he was in the other room. Even though she wasn't anywhere near the emotionally weak state she was in the night before, he didn't want to test the theory.

It almost didn't matter what she was doing, William thought - he was sure he could easily watch her like this for the rest of the evening.

He was sure he could easily watch her like this for the rest of his life.

William quietly opened the second drawer of his desk and took out his digital camera. The afternoon sun shining against the wall provided just the right indirect light. He sank out of the chair to his knees, framing her head in the viewfinder, and snapped a shot. He then slipped the camera back into the drawer.

William turned back to Kim and softly stroked her temple and the hair just over her ear with the backs of his fingers, remarking how it was even softer and smoother, if possible, after stepping from the shower...how her skin almost _felt_ like a silken cream as it kissed his touch.

He was just about to adjust his touch to caress her cheek and try to wake her gently, when she reacted in her sleep - bringing one arm up and wrapping it around his, pulling it closer, cuddling it like a pillow. His forearm was now parallel with her torso, his hand resting on her temple. William slowly turned his arm until he was able to caress her temple with the pad of his thumb.

William called her softly, nearly singing her name. "Kiimmm....Kiiiimmmm..."

Her eyes opened slowly. She focused on William, and smiled sleepily, nuzzling her face on his hand. "Hiii...."

"Hi," William returned. "I told you you'd get bored," he smiled.

"No," she murmured, not moving. "I just laid down for a minute--"

"Heh. More like an hour."

"That long? I'm sorry, William," she said, stretching her legs out straight.

"No big," he said. "I got done with the reports a little early. I was thinking of going to the market square. Feel like tacos for dinner?"

"Taaaacooosssss," she purred. "I like the soft-shelled ones."

"Okay. How many can you eat?"

"I could probably eat three, if they're not too big. Or two for dinner, and the other one for lunch tomorrow."

"Three it is," replied William. "Now - you have a choice to make while I'm out. It's getting near rush hour, and the place will be kind of busy. You can either sleep some more...or you can try out your new email account." William then smiled. "But either way, I'm going to need that arm to go get dinner."

Kim's expression changed to one of mock protest, keeping her eyes closed. "But your arm is so warm," she said through a small smile, slipping her hand into his palm and interlocking her fingers with his.

William wanted to say that it was because it was feeding from her own warmth. "C'mon," he chuckled. "The sooner I go, the sooner I get back with yummy tacos."

"Hmmmmmmmmm--mph," uttered Kim, forcing herself upright, still acting out resistance to consciousness, and still holding William's hand close to her face. "I should get up - otherwise I won't sleep tonight." She let his hand slide from hers, seemingly with some reluctance. William tried hard to decide whether to weigh this as just part of her show of displeasure about getting up - or something else.

Kim glanced through the window at the trees dancing in December's bluster. It was beginning to cloud over. "Looks windy and cold out there," she said. Maybe you should stay, and we'll fix something here instead."

"Nahh, I'll be okay. When I get in the mood for tacos, wild horses couldn't keep me away. Old Man Winter doesn't stand a chance."

Kim gave him a look, both thoughtful and playful. "Are you that way about everything?"

He was caught off guard by her thinly-veiled flirtatious statement; then replied, "Not everything - just those things which spark my desire the most," hoping it matched her level of play.

Kim kept the thoughtful expression and uttered a long "hmmmmmmm." Then she smiled and said in a rather inviting tone, "Please hurry back. I'll be thinking of you--" - the briefest pause, just a beat - "--bringing home the tacos." She finished with that closed-mouth giggle - "hm-hm-hm-hm."

William put on his coat and thrust his index finger into the air, as if making a point. "Tacos wait for no man," he started dramatically. Then he turned his finger in the direction of the square. "So I'll get them now."

"Or woman," chimed in Kim. "They wait for no woman, either. So Vaya con Carne."

"Go with meat?" William burst out laughing and headed out the door.

3:56 PM.  
Kim giggled and turned back toward the bedroom. "A Flesher with a good sense of humor," she said to herself, grinning and counting that blessing. She continued down the hallway, adding, "And punny. He's punny too." Her out-loud thoughts continued. "-And accepting...and compassionate...and attentive...and caring...and..."

She sat at the desk as her face began to take on a comfortable and thankful smile. That look continued to grow as she spotted the post-it William had left on the monitor. She plucked it and read it:

"K- your email is set up. Open email prog, click on File/Switch Identity. You, of course, are Kim. Your email addr is - You can change passwd if you want - I'll show you how. Your initial passwd is 'Y0uR0ck2KP' enjoy! W-"

"Awww," Kim cooed at reading the password. He remembered her saying that to him this morning. "This guy is too way cool!" she beamed as she double-clicked on the email icon. "He thinks of everything."

_Especially my feelings,_ her mind added as she began to compose a letter to Ron. She recounted the events since Sunday night in detail - then, suddenly realizing that she didn't know any real details about _him_ - :Will include more next email, I promise. Later, K-: she tapped the mouse on the "send" button. She then started a letter to Wade, giving him a less personal chain of events, closing with :Oh - William wants to know more about how the Cross works. Can you send anything that would help out? I remembered what I could, but you're better with the techy stuff. And he wants to know if his new boss might be on the Cross schedule. Can you check it out for us? His name is David Morris. Thanks Wade, K-:

Us? I put that without thinking, thought Kim. Just like it belonged there...it was just...natural...

Kim looked out the window and noticed it had started snowing, swirls of white whipping past.

5:17 PM.  
Kim heard a key fumbling in the lock, and William stomping his feet just inside the front door, closing it firmly. He let loose a loud "Brrrrr" as Kim walked in from the bedroom. He was standing with his arms at his sides, hand balled into fists.

"Old Man Winter loses again!" he said, shivering. "It wasn't bad until the snow started. That place was packed."

"It's just like ice cream sales in the summer," said Kim. "You were gone quite a while." She turned to look at the clock on the stereo. "It's almost--"

"--half-past frozen," William said, placing his frigid fingers on the side of her neck.

"_YeeEEEK!_" Kim shrieked, ducking his touch. William snickered.

"You're like, the Abominable William," she said, gritting her teeth and clutching her arms. She then noticed William was minus a bag. "Do you have the tacos?"

He patted the chest of his coat lightly. "In here, for warmth."

"After feeling your fingers, I'm not so sure."

"Heh. A moment in the microwave, and they'll be hot. Let's eat."

"I'll be in the bedroom, Icicle Boy," Kim chuckled, and turned to the hallway, calling back, "The email worked great. Thank you."

William went to the kitchen, unzipping his coat and pulling out the bag of food, fishing several packets of sauce from it. He set it in the microwave, punching :45 into the keypad, and then the "start" button. While they were heating, he removed his coat and put it on the back of the tall chair at the nook. Then he got two plates from the cupboard, and two paper plates from another cabinet. He placed two of each taco on each plate, leaving the third soft-shell in the microwave. He scattered the sauce packets onto the plates, grabbed the napkins the restaurant included, and headed for the bedroom, a plate balanced on each palm, the jug of juice and two plastic cups under his arm.

Kim was sitting on the bed, legs crossed. She had brought the backgammon board from the kitchen. William set her plate beside her and sat across from the board.

"Oh, man, those smell great," Kim said.

William reached forward to touch Kim's neck again, his hands heated from the plates. She gave a quick gasp at first, shying slightly from his touch, then gritted her teeth, letting his hand settle against her skin. She tilted her head to nuzzle his fingers against her cheek.

"Better?" asked William.

"Mmmm-hmmm," purred Kim, smiling.

"I'm glad to hear about the email," he said.

"Yeah. We might hear something from Wade by tonight. I asked him to send that stuff you asked about."

"Thanks," William smiled. He pointed at the backgammon set. "A rematch?"

Kim giggled. "You didn't think I was through with you yet, did you? I love this game."

"Any others?" William asked. "Like chess or something?"

"I know how to play chess," she said. "But I don't play much."

Kim then looked over the sauces on her plate. Mild, Medium, and--

She laughed out loud, reading the packet. "'Don't Go There'?"

William chuckled. "It's a sauce they make in-house. I've never tried it, but I've heard stories. I only brought it because I didn't know how hot you liked your sauce."

"Stories??" she said, wincing. She slowly put the packet down, pressing her finger on it as if to make sure it stayed on the plate. "Any sauce with a 'legend' is not for me. Too hot a sauce, and I have heartburn for the whole next day. I think I'll start with Mild for now." She opened a packet - checking the label first - and dribbled a bit on one corner of her taco.

"There's an interesting question," mused William. "Can you take antacid? Or any other flesher medications, for that matter?"

"Yep," she replied. "But I usually don't unless it's really bad. It's not like many Fleshers offer a Celler medicine. But I've never heard of an adverse reaction to them."

Kim then bit into her taco. Her eyes closed as she chewed, crossing slightly. She shuddered just a little, and hung her head, a loud "MMMMmmm" escaping from her mouth. Her head snapped up, eyes wide. "These...are..._FANTASTIC,_ William!"

William spread a trail of "Medium" along his taco, and took a bite. "They are pretty good," he said. "I'm surprised that they're not more expensive, as good as they taste."

Kim then looked at William. "I might want to try that Medium sauce," she said. William pointed out a packet on her plate. Kim shook her head slowly, smiling. She then reached across and trailed her finger along the corner of his mouth, capturing a spot of sauce. She then sucked the tip of her finger into her mouth, her eyes melting closed as he watched.

William was suddenly jealous of his taco sauce.

"Wow," Kim finally managed. "That's for me," she said, picking up the packet of Medium and tearing off a corner.

"The sauce?" joked William. Kim blushed, looking down slightly - but didn't specify.

They started on their second tacos. "William?" Kim asked, finishing another bite. "Speaking of questions...remember when you asked me things about...me?"

"Yes, I do."

"I've been thinking...I don't know anything about _you_ yourself, either."

William then realized that with all the events of the last few days, it slipped his mind to present any personal information, even while asking Kim about herself. "I'm sorry," he offered. "Please - anything you want to know."

"Well, let's start with the things you asked me. How old are you?"

"I'm 20. My birthday is in April."

"Okay...how tall are you?"

"I'm 6'2"."

"Hehe, that's up there. Weight?"

"194," said William. "Though I wouldn't bank on that, after that steak."

Kim giggled. "That was excellent steak." She continued. "How about clothes?"

William tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Yep - got some," he smirked.

Kim laughed through gritted teeth, grinning. "I can see I have to be specific with you." She then imitated sign-language and said, "What-size-clothes-do-you-wear?"

William laughed softly. "I'm sorry. Most of my shirts are a size 15, or large. My pants are a 32, with a 35 inseam. These are a little loose, though, for around the house. Hmmm, what else? Oh yeah," he finished, holding out a leg. "Size 11 shoe."

Kim snickered, remembering she had done that for him. "Okay," she pressed on. "What about family?"

"Most of them live in the Mid-West," he said. I was originally born in Ohio."

"Your parents live there, too? Do you visit them often?"

William looked down slightly. "My parents died just over four years ago."

Kim's face fell and her brow furrowed. She reached for his hand. "William...I'm sorry."

"It's okay. You couldn't have known unless I told you. They died in a snowstorm."

"That's horrible," she said, holding his hand tighter.

"I stayed with my aunt until I finished high school," William continued. "A friend of hers told her about the job offering here. I moved here and stayed with her until I found this place after about eight months. I like it. Everything I need is within walking distance, so that saves on transportation."

Kim sighed. "That's another difference between the Celler and Flesher environment," she offered. "No relatives. We're created - not really 'born'...so we don't have parents or aunts and uncles or anyone we can call relatives."

_Another small piece of common ground between worlds, _thought William. He patted her hand. "Don't worry. I'm fine with it by now."

Kim smiled. "What about your name," she asked. "Do you go by anything else other than 'William'? I mean, how about 'Will' or 'Bill'?"

"No," he replied. "I've pretty much always gone by 'William' for as long as I can remember."

"What about 'Willie'?" she smirked.

"Only if I can call you 'Kimmie'," he shot back, smiling.

She made a face - "Ecch. So not." - then made the motion of writing on a pad. "Oookaaay...William and only William."

The computer beeped. "Incoming mail," remarked William, glancing at his clock radio.

7:08 PM.  
"Maybe it's Wade already," exclaimed Kim, jumping off the bed and to the chair. She looked in her inbox. "Hmm, nothing here," she said.

"Must be on my account," replied William. "Switch identities and check."

"You trust me? Might be personal."

"I trust you."

Kim smiled warmly, then turned and clicked to switch to his email. "It must be from work," She said. "David Morris."

"Open it and read it to me," he said.

Kim clicked on the email.

:From:   
To:   
Re: Reports

William,

The reports are just faboo! Marcy dropped by as I was looking them over. She said it was as if she had never left the department! They look great. L.A. called and said they appreciated the revised reports from Monday.

Listen - it seems that admin had been tossing about the concept of telecommuting for about a month now. They said that your example cemented the deal. They want to know if you want to make it a permanent thing, only having to come into the office about once a week. Let me know - I'll have some information privacy papers for you to sign on Monday. Oh, and I mentioned your idea about an open voice line. They fell all over it!

Contact me tomorrow with what you think,

David

P.S. Tell Kim I said hi:

"Wow," said William after Kim finished. Then he chuckled - and fell back on the bed, laughing.

"What's so funny?" asked Kim, turning in the chair to face him.

"I hope Wade can find out if David is on that cross list," he said. "'Faboo'?" he laughed again.

Kim had a puzzled look on her face.

William sat up, wiping a tear from his eye. "I was just thinking...if David is on that list...who would he want to walk through his mirror...Dot Warner from Animaniacs?"

Kim burst out, her laughter now mixing with his. She made her way slowly to the bed holding her side, sliding onto it across from William, dragging the backgammon set. "C'mon, Punny So Not Backgammon Boy," she sighed through a giggle. "I believe I wanted a rematch. And your humor won't save you from my onslaught. Pour me a little juice, please - and then it's on!"

William recovered from his laughing fit, pouring Kim a glass, which she set on the wide top of the headboard. He then poured one for himself. They played for the better part of four hours, with Kim still winning slightly more than William. After about 15 minutes of small talk, they both fell to sleep, each still holding their dice cup - and each thinking how the evening couldn't have gone much better.

William thought he caught a whiff of coal from an approaching locomotive.

11:21 PM.  
to be continued...


	17. Information, Please

  
  
**17. Information, Please **

8:15 AM, Wednesday  
William brushed a speck of lint from the pants of his suit, then looked up the track again. He was sure he'd heard the whistle of an approaching train several times - even smelled the coal from its engine - yet still hadn't seen a train.

The wind picked up just a bit as it blew across the platform. He adjusted his grip on the handle of his valise, and lifted one side of his jacket, looking over the paperwork in his inside breast pocket - ticket and passport. He heard the whistle again, faint but there. William looked up the track again. Nothing - not a light, not even a trail of smoke from a locomotive. William pondered whether to get a drink before the train arrived, or if it was better to wait until he'd boarded.

A silver silken handkerchief floated to the ground by his feet. He heard a woman doing a less-than-convincing imitation of a Southern drawl from behind him. "Oh, mah...Ah dew be-leeve Ah've dropped mah han-ky. Be a deah and pick it up fo' me?"

He knew who it was without even turning around. He bent to retrieve the cloth and stood up, twirling it around his fingers. "Hi, Angelica."

"Hiya William!" she said, grabbing the handkerchief and giving him a hug. She was dressed as a true belle from the late-1800s, decked in all the frill and lace - every bit of it silver. "Still a gentleman, I see. How are ya?"

"Waiting for a train I'm beginning to think isn't coming," he replied rather wistfully, looking up the track again. "I think I might check back at the ticket booth, to see if they have a schedule."

Angelica chuckled. "There's no schedule, silly! Ya make yer own!"

William closed his eyes for a moment. He once again heard a whistle. He opened his eyes and looked - no train.

Angelica slapped him on the arm. "No no no. Ya gotta wait for the right time!"

"But you just said--"

"Don't do all I say," replied Angelica. "Don't do what ya think - Do what ya feel! Remember the two-way street? This ain't a brain thing - it's a heart thing!"

She then went into that low clear tone again, which William had learned by now meant that real advice was coming. "William," she started, "I know I joke with you a lot...but I can tell you honestly that things could not be going better than they are right now - even better than I could have seen. Things will change after you board that train. You've already seen to that, without knowing it. Please don't change anything you're doing - and please don't forget what you've told yourself...and what you're about to be told. It will become invaluable very soon."

She suddenly patted William on the shoulder and looked at her watch, her voice changing back into her street vernacular. "Hey! I gotta go. I can never stick around as long as I wanna - but at least I get to say everything I hafta. Hang in there William - you'll get there - either way it comes." She pointed to his other shoulder. "Someone wants to talk to ya. I'm outta here!"

William looked to his left, then snapped back to her. "Angelica, there's a--"

_poof._

He sighed. "--dove on my shoulder."

He looked back to the dove. It looked at him, and inched up his shoulder closer to his face. It then opened its beak - "William--" it spoke.

William studied the bird closer. It spoke again. "Willllliammm...," in a soft inviting voice, extending a wing to his face, its feathers gliding over his skin, brushing his hair back from his forehead.

William had never imagined that the touch of a feather could feel so warm.

The dove spoke once more, nearly singing his name. "Willliamm...wake up, Punny Boy..."

William opened his eyes to find Kim's face in a warm smile, within inches of his. His face was accentuated by a whisper of her hair hanging down. She was softly drifting her fingers along his hairline, from his forehead to his temple, his hair following her touch. Her warmth greeted him like the morning sun on the first day of summer. He drank in her eyes, now so close.

William wanted to go back to sleep, so he could wake up like that all over again. It was now his turn to purr, low and soft. "Mmmm...what a lovely alarm to wake up to. I think I'll throw my other one away."

She uttered a single giggle - "Hmmm" - and blushed a bit. "Your breakfast will be ready in a short while," she said. "I'm making us omelettes."

"Let me borrow your line," he replied, smiling. "Mmmmmm...there are some green onions you could dice in."

Kim giggled softly. "Too late - I'm one ahead of you." She then pointed in the direction of the kitchen. "I have to go check the skillet."

"How long have you been up?"

"About an hour. I let you sleep in...Still So Not Backgammon Boy," she snickered, getting up to head back to the kitchen.

She then pointed to some papers on the bed. "Wade must have replied late last night. I printed out what he sent. Read, and I'll be back." She then continued down the hallway.

William's gaze followed Kim down the hall, her long hair swaying in a visual symphony with the rest of her form. He looked over to the papers, then noticed the backgammon set was now on the desk. He moved his arm to get the papers, and saw that he was covered with the afghan from the couch. He wondered if Kim had slept on the couch last night, and came in and covered him when she awoke.

Kim lifted the edge of the first omelette to check its progress. She still mulled over telling him that in the middle of the night, she took the backgammon set from the bed, retrieved the afghan from the couch, and slid back into bed, throwing the afghan over them both and cuddling next to him for warmth. She slept remarkably sound as the wind howled outside.

He started to read and was immediately pulled into the technical-sounding report before him.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Cross  
The Cross, as it has come to be known by, was originally introduced to the Cellers in early March of 1986, by three individuals who were rather secretive about the sources of their knowledge. It is now generally accepted that they must be scientists who have experimented with, and are well-versed in travel of an interdimensional nature. They have come to be known by the term "Cross Agents." The three original individuals, referred to as "senior Agents," are:  
Angelica Guardia  
Misty Visione'  
Kathy Symbiona  
It is believed there are now literally thousands of subordinate Agents, whose primary function is researching potential candidates (Fleshers) for a Cross. They operate in a vast underground network, gaining information through television and buying habits, among other methods.

History  
CROSS is an acronym for Cross-phasic Replication Over Sympathic Systems, "Sympathic" meaning a reciprocal influence, in this case between the Celler and Flesher environments.

The Cross was met with much skepticim throughout the Celler community at first, until a few were performed. Even to this day, there remain problems with some aspects of initial acceptance upon the arrival of a Celler into the Flesher environment, and with other logistics such as emotional events or other trama (a Celler "out of character").

The first Cross was successfully performed on August 4th, 1986, when "Scooby-Doo" crossed to 13-year old Katie Friedrich, of Fon Du Loc, Wisconsin. Katie faithfully watched the shows, and often imagined romping with the dog in the field behind her house, or riding him. The Cross lasted for three days, ending when Katie's mother had found the vial while cleaning, and replaced the cap on it.

Crosses increased in number shortly after this event, when it was shown that it produced no adverse effects.

Mechanics  
The Resonance Conduit  
The Resonance Conduit is the path, or "doorway" through which the Cross is performed. It could best be thought of as a sort of "wormhole" linking the Celler and Flesher environments. This is accomplished through and powered by energies from solar winds, and by the Van Allen Belt, which surrounds the Earth.

_Solar winds,_ thought William. He now understood the searing light and gale-force winds that erupted from his mirror that night.

The Conduit, in its dormant form, is "open-ended" - that is, the Conduit is only connected to the Celler environment, the other end extending into space, drawn by the magnetic pull of the Moon. In its active form it is "pulled" to the Earth, nearly doubling onto itself, and joined with the Flesher environment once each lunar cycle, when the magnetic draw is weakest. The Flesher end of the Conduit is geodynamic, extending from pole to pole, and moving through each time zone at 12:00 AM local time. Cellers cannot enter the Conduit during its dormant stage, as all conditions for the Cross have not been met.

_Midnight on the first night of the new moon._ William read on intently.

While in the Resonance Conduit, the Celler is bombarded with several different types of radiation which give them third-dimension and other properties of the Flesher environment (i.e., light and shadow, physical density).

Third-dimension properties cannot be removed from Fleshers to allow them passage through the Resonance Conduit. As such, there is no possible travel from Flesher to Celler environments. There is no viable translation from third- to second-dimension through the Resonance Conduit. Were a Flesher to enter the Conduit as it opens, it would prove fatal.

Frequency  
Each Celler is assigned a frequency of resonance, which allows the Cross to take place at the specified time, once all condtions have been met. This specific frequency ensures that the proper Celler is Crossed to the target specified by the Cross Agents, who keep an extensive and comprehensive schedule of which Celler is to Cross, and to where.

Just before their Cross, the specified Celler is sprayed with a chemical formula which is tuned and electrostatically charged with their assigned frequency of resonance, which allows them to be receptive to changes (addition of third-dimension properties) as they travel through the Resonance Conduit. The formula also includes a fragrance, chosen at the discretion of the Celler, and is absorbed into their pores for the duration of the Cross.

"Heh," chuckled William. "I guess that answers the question about vanilla perspiration." He continued reading.

The Incantation  
The words that are read at the time of the Cross, sounding like some mystical "incantation," are actually analyzed and compiled by computer, and formulated into a sequence which, when read aloud with all other conditions met, produce a frequency sequence that activates the vial to open the "resonance pathway" between Celler and Flesher environments. Any modification whatsoever to the Incantation including omission or addition of words or spoken sounds will disrupt the frequency sequence, and the vial will not be actvated.

Excerpts of The Rules flashed back to William's mind--  
_"Read EXACTLY what is on the scroll, from beginning to end - don't leave out anything."_  
_"Speak NOTHING ELSE aloud but what is on the scroll." _

The Mirror  
The mirror, when activated by the vial, acts as the final "doorway" into the Flesher environment. The silver contained in the mirror completes the transformation to the Flesher environment, through a chemical reaction. The residual radiation from the Resonance Conduit has been known to make the edges of the mirror appear to "melt" as the Celler emerges through it. This residual radiation dissipates quickly after completion of the Cross, and is not known to cause adverse effects in Fleshers.

The Candle  
The candle serves no real purpose in relation to the Cross, but is used in helping to present the "mysterious" atmosphere of the Cross, and, being coated with the specific Celler's chosen fragrance, has been reported to assist with initial acceptance immediately after the Cross, by aquainting the Flesher with the presence of the fragrance.

The Vial  
The Vial is one of the crucial components to complete the Cross. It is shaped like a small vial, but is actually a crystal, tuned to the resonance frequency assigned to a specific Celler. Once activated by the words of the Incantation, the crystal is activated, vibrating at the specified frequency of resonance, acting as a catalyst to complete the resonance pathway for the Celler to complete the Cross. The frequency also causes the crystal to become very bright.

_There's what made the vial light up,_ thought William.

When activated, the crystal is designed to split, opening the specific Resonance Conduit Pathway, through which the Celler Crosses. This pathway remains open for the duration of the Cross, until the crystal is once again joined, closing the pathway.

_The cap on the vial,_ he thought. William read a bit more - then stopped, his eyes burning into the last paragraph of the report, reading it over and over;

In the event that either half of the split crystal should become damaged or destroyed, the crystal will become inert; the Conduit pathway will not close, as would be thought, but will then become what is termed a "Self-Sustaining Termination"; that particular Cross will become permanent and irrevocable; the Celler would remain in the Flesher environment, permanently retaining their third-dimension properties. The SST was explained by the Cross Agents in their initial presentation; but as of this writing, this event is not known to have ever occured, as information on how to bring about an SST is not freely offered to a Flesher, for obvious reasons.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

William wondered if this paragraph was included by mistake - or willingly offered to him.

He was still reading when Kim entered the room with two large plates. Each held a delectable golden omelette, folded over a filling of cheese, diced ham and green onions. The eggs were flanked with two slices of toast, which were buttered and sprinkled with a mix of sugar and cinnamon. "Breakfast in bed," she smiled, sliding his plate in front of him and setting her own down. She turned for the kitchen again, stopping in the doorway. "Do you take anything in your tea?" she asked.

"One spoonful of sugar," he replied. Kim rushed back to the kitchen and returned with two large mugs, handing one to William and setting the other on the headboard. She took up her plate and sat on the bed, waiting for his critique.

William cut into the fluffy offering, and took a bite. The eggs were nearly as wispy as air, allowing the other tastes to frolic in his mouth. "Mmm mmm mmm," he remarked. "I think along with throwing out my other alarm, I'll fire my other cook. This is just heavenly, Kim. My compliments to the Master Breakfast Chef."

Kim perked with a wide smile. Upon hearing his approval, she eagerly dug into her omelette, her own accolade of appreciative moans providing the room with a light and, for William, welcome breakfast music.

"I used a little secret in the eggs," said Kim.

"Oh?"

"I was looking through the fridge for ideas, and found some ice cream in the freezer. I used that instead of milk. You like?"

Of course. Vanilla ice cream. French vanilla at that.

"It made the eggs very light," he said. "The cream just makes them melt in my mouth. Kim, I love--"

A small bit of food caught in his throat, causing him to cough suddenly.

Kim stopped, dropping her fork and looking at him, mostly out of concern, partly from her attention being frozen by his last words. "Are you okay?" she asked.

William cleared his throat. "Yeah," he said hoarsely, reaching for his tea. "Something must have gone down the wrong way," he said, sipping. "I love this. You have such a way with eggs."

"Try the toast," asked Kim, perking immediately back into a smile.

He obliged. "Cinnamon sugar toast. My mom used to make this for me when I was a kid," he said, taking another bite.

"It's my favorite toast."

William then noticed that Kim had yet to touch her toast, and was barely one-quarter of the way through her omelette. "This is great," he asked. "You're not eating?"

Kim looked down at her plate. "Oh," she replied with a sheepish grin. "Hehe, I'm sorry. I guess I was busy watching you enjoy yours. I'm glad you like my cooking...and thank you for letting me cook for you."

"Kim," started William, cutting another bite from his omelette, "I'm sorry. I should have told you by now that you're welcome to do anything you wish here." He brought the fork to his mouth. "_Mi casa es su casa,_" he said, and took his bite.

"What?" she asked, puzzled. "I...don't know much Spanish."

William swallowed the last of his omelette and smiled. "Oh. I said 'My house is your house'." He held his gaze a few seconds before picking up his toast.

_Just too way cool,_ Kim thought. She was smiling nearly too much to eat as she dug into the rest of her meal. Her mind was filling with the events of the past couple of days - and how anything good that has happened has nearly always had William connected with it in some way--

--she heard a loud crack echo from the back of her mind.

:::inside fast ball. Guardia swings and _crushes_ this one into deep left center! The outfielder is chasing it back to the fence--:::

Even though William had a substantial head start, they finished their breakfast at nearly the same time. William set down his plate and picked up his tea, patting his stomach lightly. "I think I'll eat here again," he said. "The food is excellent--" Kim picked up both plates. "--and the service is first-rate."

Kim smiled even wider, stacking one plate onto the other. "I'm glad you liked it," she said, starting for the kitchen.

"I can help with the dishes--" said William, starting to rise from the bed.

"Nonononono," Kim interrupted. "I'm just going to put these in the sink for now. You stay right there." She returned quickly. "You have a bit of time before your reports start coming in," she said, taking the backgammon set from the desk and setting it on the bed, "and that means I have a bit of time to trash you some more - Ever So Not Backgammon Boy," the last breaking up into a giggle.

William laughed too - then paraphrased a line that was originally said by Bonnie in one of the episodes, his voice teasing in a feminine pitch. "Go ahead - be little Miss Smug Mug...but I _will_ be backgammon captain."

Kim laughed out loud at this, and reached over, mussing his hair. "C'mon...lose - I mean play," she said through her laughter.

The games went about as she predicted, with her emerging victorious again. Around noon, Kim fixed them both a delicious salad, with a host of vegetables and Caesar dressing. When William telnetted into work to begin the reports, Kim washed and dried the dishes, and started on laundry, finding the compact washer-dryer combo in a small space across from the hall closet...even hanging up his clothes as they finished. When he sent off the reports, William accepted David's offer in his email. He then stood and looked out the window. The snow had accumulated to over half a foot and was continuing to fall. He took comfort in the fact that he wouldn't have to trudge through that in the morning.

William walked into the living room, where Kim was polishing the glass top of the coffee table with a dampened cloth. She then sat on the couch, slowly wiping the small Bound Dreams mirror.

"Have you looked outside?" he asked. "It's snowing like crazy."

"Yeah," she said. "I've looked out once or twice...but mostly I've been a little busy."

"You've been awfully busy today," he remarked, then joked, "If it were anyone else, I'd think you were doing all this to butter me up, trying to apologize or ask for something."

Kim looked up at him. "I hope I haven't done anything that I have to apologize for," she said. "And I couldn't ask for anything more. You've done way more than I ever thought or expected you would do. I'm just doing what I can to thank you for everything you have done." She then rose and hugged him. "I feel more welcome here than I ever could have imagined. Thank you again, William. Like I said before...you rock."

William returned her embrace. "Thank you, Kim," he replied. "And you rock, too."

William also thanked Angelica. Whether cross agent...or scientist...or whatever she was - At that moment, it didn't matter. What mattered was not what Angelica was - but what she did. What mattered at that moment was the gift Angelica had presented him with - the gift that now had her arms around him, enclosing him in her warmth.

4:45 PM.  
to be continued....


	18. All Aboard!

  
  
**18. All Aboard! **

4:47 PM.  
Kim welcomed the warmth of William's arms, and her mind went back to when she snuggled next to his sleeping form as the snowstorm raged outside last night. When the wind gusted, the bedroom window made a cracking sound that in some aspects reminded her of her passage through the Resonance Conduit - the wind, and blurs of white rushing past her. It made her draw even closer to him, pulling the afghan around her. His warmth as he slept made her think of the sensations of receiving third-dimension attributes as she raced through the Conduit. Kim did a fast-flash rewind of the events after the cross, and how this event had been so unique from any other.

Though not as dark as that Sunday night when she first emerged through the mirror, the darkness of the bedroom when she turned off the light recalled her to that moment. William didn't freak. In fact, his first reaction when she tried to introduce herself was to faint dead away.

Even the next morning, when he discovered her sleeping just feet away from him, he didn't overreact. He didn't make a spectacle of the fact that Kim Possible was not only in his house, but a physical presence now very similar to him, yet with enough differences to be more than obvious. William didn't treat her as some fantasy that suddenly appeared - he treated her as a guest - an unplanned, but welcome guest. He didn't react with the usual amazement. He didn't ask her to "do some cartoon moves." He didn't ask her to dive off of a chair face-first into the floor and jump up, unhurt. He didn't "ooh and ahh" - from the very moment that he could speak to her, he had asked questions in an attempt to get to know her instead of the way nearly all other Fleshers "accept" and interact when a Celler enters their environment.

From the earliest opportunity, William had done everything in his power to make Kim feel like anything other than entertainment or wonderment - but like being part of his everyday life was as natural as the next day's sunrise.

Kim's mind continued to race, and she could feel the controls slipping from her hands. She wasn't ready to follow Angelica's ever-trusted advice. She did know that she had to break the moment, or be swept away by its rising swift current.

Kim took a step back from William, their arms sliding until their hands met. She looked up at him, her eyes slightly glassy. "Have you given any thought as to what you might feel like for dinner?" she asked, her emotions recovering and reeling in steadily.

"Hmm, I hadn't given it much thought," William replied. "That salad you fixed for lunch was so delicious and so filling, I haven't even thought about food." He thought for a moment - then, "I do have some good fish that I picked up at the market on Sunday. I could bake that with some sort of vegetable--"

"Nonono," Kim interrupted. "The kitchen is mine today." She sidestepped in that direction and extended her arms in a guarding motion.

"Kim, you've done so much today already," he protested. "You know you don't have to do 'work' around here."

"I want to," she returned. "Today...I want to."

William gave her just the slightest hint of an expression of exaspiration.

"Okay, I'll compromise with you," she said. "If you let me cook, I'll keep it simple. No work."

"Hmmm....what?"

"How about...something just perfect for a shivery winter's evening." She put her hand to her stomach. "Something that will keep the fire inside, while Old Man Winter gets his tweak on outside." She then put her finger to her cheek, thinking. "Something like...a nice hot bowl of tomato soup...and a grilled cheese sandwich?"

"Wow," William smiled. "Simple, but right on the mark." He extended his hand, meeting hers with a light slap. "That's a deal. You know where everything is except the soup. That's in the cupboard next to the fridge."

"Cool. I'll start the sandwiches." She turned for the kitchen, but was stopped with William's fingers on her upper arm.

"Kim?" he asked. "Are you okay? You looked a bit...sad just a moment ago."

"No," she replied. "I'm fine. It was just a little...you know," she said, waving her hand.

"Okay. I just wondered," said William. He gave her a warm smile, and she continued into the kitchen.

_Almost,_ she thought, mentally wiping her brow. She slid the griddle out of the cupboard and turned on the heat. She then reached for the bread, opened the fridge for butter, took a knife from the drawer and began coating two slices while waiting for the griddle to heat up. She then remarked to herself that sad was the absolute furthest from how she felt.

William sat in the tall chair on the other side of the nook, watching Kim's actions. She coordinated like a machine, he thought; she didn't have to rush to check if something was burning. She was very deliberate and neat in her motions. She decided on a mix of American an Monterey Jack cheese, placing just the right amount on the bread, then adding the top slice, giving it a small pat. To watch her, one would think she had cooked in this kitchen for years. William had done it for over a year himself, yet still couldn't master creating a meal without leaving some sort of culinary debris behind to clean up afterward. Kim peeked under the sandwiches and turned them to cook the other side. The griddle hissed its intent to that other side as she flipped them gently, the butter spitting against the heated surface. The exposed side looked like it could grace the cover of any cooking magazine, just that shade of inviting golden brown, not even a hint of burning on the edges.

William honored Kim's mock request to stay clear of the kitchen, his capacity relegated to one of cuisinary cop, telling her where a spice or something else could be found. His only contribution to the meal was suggesting serving the soup in glazed earthenware bowls, using shallower bowls as an insulator.

Kim ladled the soup into the bowls and poured the last little bit, using the tip of her finger to capture a drip at the edge of the pot. She edged a spatula under the sandwiches when they were done, sliding them onto small paper plates, to which she added a spoon and set them atop the bowls.

Kim motioned William to his dinner. "I don't think I want to risk carrying both of these at once," she grinned. She then motioned her head to the bedroom. "Feel like more spanking-- errr, backgammon?" she said, trying to hide a giggle.

"Hmph," said William, starting off first down the hallway. "You probably drugged the soup so I'd lose more."

"Now why would I do something like that? Why would I _have_ to do something like that?" she finished, letting a snicker escape.

5:18 PM.  
They took their places on the bed, Kim biting into her sandwich, William starting on his soup. The tomato concoction made its presence well-known to William's tongue. "Wow," he exclaimed. "What did you do to the soup? It's got more personality than any tomato soup I ever tasted."

Kim smiled at his approval. "No big," she said. "A hint of garlic, a pinch of paprika, and just a -flash- of chili powder. I'm glad you like it." She picked up her own bowl and let a spoonful slide between her lips, the expected "Mmmmmm" coming forth in return.

"You have yet to cook something I don't like," he said. He then chuckled, "I think I'm getting a small taste of how a Celler views Flesher food."

William had once again committed the error of making a funny while Kim had liquid in her mouth. "Mmm-m_MPHTH_" She spluttered her mouthful of soup at him, her hand not moving quick enough to stop it. She managed to cover her mouth as she looked at William, a flurry of "hm-hm-hm-hm-hm-hm-hm-hm" behind it. "Go look in the mirror," she giggled as she reached for her napkin.

William went to the bathroom and found his face speckled with red dots. He let out a loud cry of mock shock. "Oh NO! I've got _KIM POX!_" He heard Kim erupt in laughter at this. He washed his face and glasses, and returned to the bed, sitting a little more at the corner, away from her.

"What??" she asked.

William made his fingers into the sign of a cross, then picked up his spoon and flicked at her, splattering her with drops of soup as well. He pointed, beginning to laugh, barely able to get out, "Kim Poxible."

"_HAHAHAHAHAHA!_" she burst out bending forward, her eyes closed tightly. She raised her head and looked at William's shirt, then her own, both now peppered with tomato spots, and cracked up again. "You-u're infecte-ed," she managed through her laughter, wiping her face.

William responded matter-of-factly, "You're a carrier."

Kim leaned over on her elbow, laughing again. She then brought herself up, the last of her laughter coming out in falsetto. She tried to return to eating.

"There's probably no cure, either," William added.

A serious expression snapped onto Kim's face. "You're right. There is no cure. Forever more, you'll suffer from inferior backgammon skills." She snickered, "And tomato spots."

They finished their meals and started in on the backgammon. Kim won the first game by a fair margin - then lost the second, soundly thrashed by William.

"Ahhh," he commented smugly. "The spanker gets spanked?"

"No Duh," she replied. "The dice were with you that time. I dare you to try that again," she said, determinedly setting up her pieces for another game. He got a triple win, or backgammon, on her.

"This is ferociously bad," she said. She then made the motion of writing. "Note to self - do NOT play William in backgammon when he is suffering from Kim Pox."

"I've never done that to anyone before."

"Even Shego never beat me that bad." Further writing. "Other note to self - do not spice up William's soup." William chuckled in response. "Maybe this isn't Backgammon Night for me," she added. "Or maybe a shower will wash the Kim Pox off of me. Would you mind?"

"Go right ahead," he said. "I'll just be here...sucking on my shirt for a snack."

Kim laughed and went to the hall closet, picking out fresh clothes and popping into the shower. William changed into a dark blue polo shirt with the "M" logo from Meridian.

About 25 minutes later, Kim emerged from the bathroom, brushing out her hair. She was dressed all in white, sweatpants and another of her spaghetti-strap tops - cotton, with a small teddy bear sewn on the upper left chest. She caught William's attention the moment she walked in. "This feels much better," she said, twirling to model the ensemble for him.

Kim sat on the bed, leaning toward William. "I tried some of the makeup while I was in there, too. Tell me what you think."

William was stunned. Kim had applied just the barest hint of blush under each of her cheekbones; a thin wisp of liner on the edge of each eyelid matched the shade of her eyes; and a burgundy-red gloss now coated her upper lip. He didn't think that in this form she could look any more angelic - but it turned out that he underestimated the full impact of her beauty.

William somehow found the composure to contain himself, and said, "Kim, you look super even without makup...but...this is radiant."

Kim blushed, but didn't turn away. Her eyes once again appeared to start to glass over, and she blinked rapidly a couple of times. "Thank you," she cooed. "That's all I needed to hear."

7:10 PM.  
Kim then laid back on the bed and looked over at him. "William..." she asked. "Tell me about your parents...what were they like?"

"They were pretty neat," William said. "Dad ran a hardware store...we didn't live in a big town...and Mom was an accountant. I think that's where I got my skill with numbers. I was always playing with her calculator, and later on, I started asking all sorts of questions when she would bring books home to balance."

Kim rested her head on her hand, listening with interest.

"They did just about everything together," he continued. "He taught her golf, and she taught him cooking. I think I actually learned how to cook from him. Mom was always the tough one when it came to punishment. Dad was a little more flexible. Sometimes when Mom would send me to bed without supper for a bad test grade, he would sneak me a plate."

Kim's face slowly grew a smile as he talked.

"Every Saturday night, they would leave me with a babysitter - even when I was 16 - and go into the next town for the weekly dance. They loved to dance. In fact, they were coming home from one on the night they were caught in the blizzard."

Kim leaned up and looked past William at the window. "Worse than this?" she asked, pointing out to the still-swirling snow.

"Much worse," he replied. "Dad had called before they left the dance and told the babysitter they were going to try to make it home, and that he'd pay her extra to sleep over. In the morning, they still weren't there. I called my aunt, and she took the babysitter home in her Jeep...then we came back to the house. The police called two days after that, and told her they had found my parents' car stuck in a snowbank by the side of the road, about 20 miles out of town. They said they just...froze to death."

Kim got a sad expression. "That's awful," she said. "I'm so sorry. Do you still miss them a lot?"

"Sometimes, yeah. But time has helped. After it happened, I missed like three weeks of school. I just couldn't get used to the fact that they were gone. Even when I went back to school, anytime someone mentioned their own parents, I would just about lose it all over again." William fidgeted with the edge of his paper plate as he spoke. "I guess that's the bad thing about having parents...eventually we all lose them. But it's tougher to lose them when you're at a young age."

"I think, even with that, I would have liked to have parents," Kim said.

William thought a moment. "You know," he said, "in a way, I think you could consider Angelica a type of 'parent'."

Kim let that register. "Yeah...yeah, you're right. She was just like a mother when she was helping us with our first cross." She then giggled. "The first time, I was really scared. I didn't want to even try it. She would just keep saying, 'Yeah, you'll love it'...like she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. The night of the cross, I kept saying I didn't want the Resonance chemical thing all over me. She walked up to me with one hand behind her back...then she suddenly pointed behind me and said 'Look! It's Jonny Quest!' I turned around - and Blammo! I was coated! And off I went." William and Kim laughed softly.

"So when the Cross happens, the Resonance Conduit just...picks you up? Just like that?" William asked.

"Ever watch Star Trek? Same principle," Kim then sat up. "You said your parents danced every weekend."

"Yep - faithfully."

"Do you dance?"

"Well, I do," William said, still picking at the edge of his plate. "But...in here, dancing alone...you know." He made a face.

Kim smiled. "Yeah. You know, William? I don't even know what kind of music you like. You never change the radio from the pop station I found."

"I like some pop," he said. I also like a lot of rock...especially stuff from the late-60's and early 70's - you know - 'acid rock'," he said, holding up his hands and making quotation marks with his fingers.

"Do you have a lot of tapes or CDs?" she asked.

"You know the two cabinets on either side of the TV?"

"Yeah, but I haven't looked in either of them."

"Well, one is full of videotapes. The other one, that the stereo is sitting on, is nothing but tapes and CDs."

Kim took William's hand and jumped from the bed, uttering, "Show me" quickly.

"What about the dishes?" he asked.

"Leave them," she said hurriedly, pulling him down the hallway to the living room. "We'll get 'em later."

7:45 PM.  
William pointed to the cabinet to the left of the TV, and sat on the couch. Kim went to the cabinet and pulled open the double doors. She sank slowly to her knees, as if she were worshiping a shrine. Row after row of CDs filled the body of the cabinet, with cassettes lining the doors.

"Wooowww," Kim let out slowly under her breath, gazing over the countless titles. Her fingers slipped down one row, then the next. "William, when I said you rock...I had no idea. You rock in stereo!"

William chuckled. "Quite a few of those belonged to my parents," he said. "I added the pop stuff, and there's some compilation discs I made from MP3s I downlo--"

William was cut short by a loud gasp from Kim. "No _WAY,_" she exclaimed, pulling a cassette quickly from one of the doors, searching the label. "_YES!_" she shouted. "This was Angelica's all-time favorite song! She was always playing it." She turned to William, holding the cassette in both hands. "...can I??"

"Sure," he replied. "Anything you want. Toss me the remote from on top of the stereo."

She lobbed the remote across the room to William, who turned the receiver on and pressed the "eject" button for the tape deck. Kim slid the tape from the case, putting that on top of the stereo, and dropping the cassette into the deck, pushing the carriage closed. William pushed "play" and bumped the volume a bit. The strains of free-form guitar from Steppenwolf filled the room.

Kim turned to William, raising her voice to talk above the music, her excitement showing in her tone. "Angelica was all about songs that dealt with 'fantasy'," she said. "But this was her favorite." Kim then assumed a stance in front of the stereo; her feet slightly apart, knees barely bent; her hands closed and drawn together at her chest. When the lyrics and beat started, she began to swing her hips back and forth in time with the music.

-I like to dream-  
-Yes, yes right between the sound machine-  
-On a cloud of sound I drift in the night-  
-Anyplace it goes is right-  
-Goes far, flies near, to the stars away from here-

Kim then slid her arms over her head, interlocking her fingers and began to swivel her hips while turning in a slow circle, moving in an arc across the floor, a hypnotic joy taking over her expression.

-Well, you don't know what we can find-  
-Why don't you come with me little girl - on a Magic Carpet Ride-  
-You don't know what we can see-  
-Why don't you tell your dreams to me-  
-Fantasy can set you free-

William drank in her movements, mesmerized by the natural fluid motion of her body. He could now offer a theory into how the phrase, 'Mad Dog foams at the mouth' might have come to be.

-Close your eyes girl-  
-Look inside girl-  
-Let the sound take you away-

When the first chorus finished, Kim turned to William and reached for his hand to pull him from the couch, her other hand in that "come hither" motion, in front of her face. William wasn't sure he even had the legs to stand, much less dance. He rose to his feet and picked up on the rhythm, moving with her, remote in hand. "The _words,_ William," she shouted. "Listen to the words!" She continued dancing as the second verse started.

-Last night I held Aladdin's Lamp-  
-And so I wished that I could stay-  
-Before the thing could answer me-  
-Well, someone came and took the lamp away-

Kim reached down to the coffee table, grabbing the candle. "Catch!" she laughed, tossing it to him.

-I looked around-  
-a lousy candle was all I found-

The song repeated the chorus and went into the long instrumental passage. Kim continued to gyrate. She moved like living quicksilver, William thought. He tried as best he could to keep up, but could never hope to imitate such moves.

The song finished, and William pushed "stop." Kim stopped, shaking her leg to one side, a wide smile on her face. "I haven't danced like that in forever," she said, switching to shake the other leg. "Put in something else...I feel like more."

William set the tape on top of its case, and searched through the rack of CDs. he pulled out a case marked "Feel Good Mix," and pushed the button to slide out the CD tray. "This is full of MP3s I got from the net," he said, placing the disc onto the tray and pushing it closed. "A lot of it is danceable." He nudged the volume up, now over halfway as the CD loaded. Kim waited with anticipation for the first song. A scream burst from the stereo.

-Everybody dance now-

Kim's expression widened, her teeth now showing. "C & C Music Factory? Danceable?" she said. "That's an understatement. We practice cheers to this!" Her body instantly took motion as the beat started, her shoulders rocking to and fro, her arms at her sides, slowly rising in an arc until they crossed over her head.

-Give me the music-  
-Give me the music-

William was barely moving while watching Kim perform a series of sweeping motions with her arms, as if she held a pair of pom-pons, her hair alive and moving like a red streamer.

-jump to the rhythm-  
-jump jump to the rhythm _jump_-

At the last "jump," Kim suddenly crouched with her feet together and sprang into a perfect double back flip, startling William. "Whoa!"

"Ooops," she giggled. "Sorry - I get carried away."

"Carry on," replied William, grinning.

They continued through the song, the music seeming to take Kim where it wished in her spontaneous "routine". Toward the end of the song, Kim offered William her hand. She raised their hands overhead and she twirled three times, falling back to the floor, William catching her just before she hit. She kicked one leg in the air and William, catching on quickly, pulled her swiftly upward, launching her across the room. She landed in a split and threw up her hands as the song ended, William applauding.

She rose to her feet. "Once again, cheerleading enhances my life," she laughed softly.

"Yeah," added William, smiling. _Mine too, Kim,_ he thought _...mine, too._

9:23 PM.  
They danced for well over an hour, driven by song after song as each jumped from the speakers, enjoying the atmosphere. They both fell to the couch, spent, giddy from the uplifting mood of the music.

"Whew," said Kim breathlessly, sweeping her hair back. "That was great. I haven't danced like that in a long time."

"Me either," nodded William, trying to decide if he was more out of breath from dancing, or just from watching Kim.

William raised his nose a bit, sniffing the air. "Kim?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember me asking at breakfast the other day about perspiration, and vanilla?"

"Uhhh...yeah..." she said, slightly apprehensive.

He nodded slowly, smiling. "I...think I have my answer."

Kim giggled, then blushed. "Okay...so I sweat vanilla."

"It's a good thing," he said. "It's...ummm...so not gym socks."

Kim smiled. "Angelica would have loved the dancing," she said. "She could dance pretty good herself. She should have been here." Then Kim's expression fell a bit as she remembered the verve of her friend. "She should still be here," she added softly.

William reached over, putting his hand lightly on Kim's shoulder. "I know you miss her," he said. "I do too. I just wish that there would have been something more I could have done to help you that night...something I could have said...but...I've never been good at finding the...'right thing to say' at times like that."

Kim brought her hand up, covering William's. "I'm not sure there was a 'right thing' you could have said right then. But you did something that meant more to me than any words at the time...you were there, William." She looked over at him, A single tear at the corner of her eye. "You were right there...and you held me when I needed it most. I think that did more to help me than words could have. Thank you again for that."

William reached to Kim, capturing her tear on the tip of his finger, his other hand still on her shoulder with hers. "I am here, Kim," he said. "It was only natural. You were hurting so much that night...I couldn't just stand by and watch you hurt. I did the only thing I could think of. I still wish it could have been more...but nothing else seemed right..."

Kim slipped past William's hand, laying her head against him. His hand was now at her other shoulder, his fingers curling gently to her upper arm. "It was just right," she said.

"At my parents' funeral, a lot of people came up to me, trying to say the 'right things'," said William. "They all said they were sorry, and things like 'How are you holding up', or 'You're too young to be without parents' - things that didn't really help or change anything, and I think they knew that. It was almost as if they just felt they were forced to say _something._ My aunt was different. She held my hand all through the funeral ceremony. She hugged me a lot...and just like you just said, that helped me more than the words did."

"And that's what you did when I was hurting," Kim said. "You didn't try to fluff it over. It was almost as if you knew what I needed most at that moment...and if you didn't, you did what worked the best with you when you were in the same situation." She looked up at him. "And that's why it meant more to me than some 'traditional' consolation would have." She laid her head back against his chest.

9:41 PM.  
_poof_

A brilliant flash filled the room for a split second, which startled both of them. Then - near total darkness. Only the light from the stereo and the hood light over the stove, mostly blocked by the wall of the nook, remained.

They looked at each other, even though it was barely enough light to make out shapes. "Must be a dud," said William. "I only changed that bulb about two weeks ago. There are more in the hall closet."

"It's okay," Kim replied. "My eyes were beginning to bother me a little. I do have an idea, if you want more light." She reached to the coffee table and held up the candle.

"We can use the back of the mirror to catch the wax," said William, searching for the lighter in his pocket. She gave them both to him and he set them on the end table by the phone. Kim leaned over and watched while he lit the candle.

The candle sparked into life, emitting that eerie flame that, to William, still seemed a little unconventional. Their shadows played against the far wall. "Better?" Kim asked.

William set the lighter on the table and turned to look at Kim. His attention was immediately caught by her eyes, each highlighted by the flicker of the candle, seeming to accent the smoothness of her face even more with its soft glow. "Mmm-hmm," he grinned, and they settled to the couch again as before.

"Kim..." started William, "I know this might be a bit touchy...but there's been something on my mind about Angelica..and you."

"Okay," she said softly.

"You said that Cellers don't age...so by that, I'm assuming that you don't..."

"Die?" she finished.

"Yeah."

"That's right. In the Celler environment, we have no age...so there's no 'end', if that's what you mean. I'm not so sure about in the Flesher environment, though. I don't know if we age here or not. A Cross has never really lasted long enough to find out. Why do you ask that?"

"I was just wondering how the rest of the Celler community will deal with it. I know that Angelica wasn't a Celler...but she was very important there, with the Crosses and all. Will they have some sort of service or something?"

"I imagine they will," said Kim. "Yeah, she wasn't a Celler...but she was one of the three who first brought the concept of the Cross to us, as you read in the paper Wade sent." She then sighed quietly. "I'm not sure what will happen. This is the first time I know of that a Cross Agent has died. I would guess that they would hold a funeral wherever it is that the other Cross Agents come from."

"You're not sure where they come from?"

"Not really. They're very secretive with nearly everything about _them_. They told us just about anything we wanted to know about the Cross, but when it came to other things, they just kind of danced around it. We got used to that, after a while."

William was bracing himself for whatever answer she gave to his next question. "Kim...? Would it...be easier...if you were...there instead of here?"

Kim sat up quickly, turning to face him, looking a bit frightened at what he said. "What do you mean?" she asked slowly. "What...what are you saying, William?" She tried hard not to think that it was his idea or intention. Inside, she fought hard to steady the wheel against the emotional sea she had been battling off and on all day.

"...would it be easier for you to cope with this...if you were to go back?"

Her expression went somewhat blank. "No, William," she said softly, her eyes lowering to the couch. "No...it wouldn't. Whether there or here, there's nothing I could have done to prevent what happened - and there's nothing I can do now to change it. Everyone there knows how I felt about Angelica. She knew very well how I felt. We hung around a lot together...and I never hesitated to tell her how neat it was to know her." She looked at him. "When I look back on what happened that night...and how you dealt with it...I know that here was the best place I could be at that time." She took his hand, adding, "I can't think of anywhere I would rather be. And I don't care if it was a dream, or what it was - the talk Angelica had with me...the things she said...they did a lot to put my mind at ease about what happened. That, and..." she gave his hand a squeeze. "...and what you did just helped what she said make more impact."

Angelica's statement during the dream (?) came back to him-- 'I'll help out there, too. I'll talk to her, same as I'm talking to you.'

"That's something I've been meaning to ask," he said. "I know we both dreamed about the same place...but...what did she say to you?"

Kim gave a small grin. "You first," she said.

"Well...she told me just to be myself..."

"And are you?"

"Yeah," he said, smiling.

"Anything else?"

"...she said that what I was doing was 'exactly right'..."

"And it was," she replied. "In more ways than one. Anything else?"

"More ways than one?" he asked. "How do you mean?"

Kim looked at him for a long moment after that; then she shifted so that she was facing him on the couch with her feet drawn up beside her. She reached for the stereo remote and turned it down a bit, still playing at an audible level. She then set the remote on the coffee table and leaned to him, speaking in a soft tone.

"William," she began, "You know that when a Celler first comes through the Cross, everything is lit up for just the briefest split second - and then it's pitch black." He nodded once. "It's not just the lack of light, though - it's also the darkness of the unknown. We never know how a Cross is going to go until we go there and go through it. After I came through the mirror, the first light I saw was when you relit the candle." She flashed her gaze to the candle, then back to him. She then continued.

"The next light I saw was when I woke up the next morning - and you were there. You weren't huddled in some corner, trying to hide from me. You talked with me...not to me - but with me. You wanted to know about me. And when you said something that wasn't quite right - like the cartoon thing - you didn't just go 'wow'...you actually apologized. From the very start, you've treated me very well - and not just 'me'...but my feelings, too." She paused, turning his palm up, and slipping hers into it.

"You've seen to my every need," she went on. "I was hungry - and you were there, making me eggs and toast for breakfast. When I told you the way to send a Celler back, you did what you could to keep the vial and cap far from each other. When you found out that I wasn't going back right away - you were there, and bought me all those wonderful clothes."

Kim could feel her control begin to slip again as a tear rolled slowly down her cheek. "When I found out about Angelica, it was a very dark moment for me. Darker than the room after the Cross - darker than even the darkest ebony. It hurt. It hurt - and you were there, feeling for me, trying to share and take away my pain. You felt my pain along with me, William...and it touched me...it touched me deeply." Her voice wavered slightly as another tear came.

"Kim," William said, sliding his other hand over hers. "Why are you upset--"

"Shhhh," Kim whispered. "I'm not upset at all. I promise," she smiled through her tears. She paused for a few seconds to collect herself.

As she paused, William's attention was drawn to the stereo as another song started. He recognized it - "The Calling" by Yes. It seemed to be mixed a little louder than the other songs on the disc. William continued looking at Kim - and something inside him tied the group's words and hers together as the voices began:

-Feel the calling of a Miracle-  
-In the presence of the Word-  
-Now we hold the right to rearrange-  
-How the stories can be heard-

William heard the whistle again, louder than it had ever been.

Kim began again, holding his hand tighter. "Things have happened since I arrived here - and through it all, no matter what it was - no matter how dark it was - you were here. You have been my light, William. You held me when I cried...you make me laugh...you've touched me in ways I couldn't have imagined a Celler would even attempt to. You make me feel so special, so...blessed to be here - and then you turn around and do it all over again. You've...you've made me feel as if--" She wiped away tears as more came. "--as if I'm a part of your life...a part that you don't want to be without. Of all the light here, William, you're the brightest and warmest one - you fill me with a warmth I've never felt--" She took his face into her hands...

The locomotive's high-pitched whistle screamed throughout the station, announcing its arrival as it coasted slowly to the platform, its large brass bell pealing; its ample headlamp flooding the area in a bright wash of light. William rose to his feet, taking a firm grasp on his valise. He took one step - and froze. He immediately heard Angelica's words from when she was there:

_"you'll get there - either way it comes." _

That train had indeed arrived at last, sliding into the station--

_--from the other direction._

"William...I love you."

_I've said it,_ thought Kim. _I've said it, and I couldn't stop it. It was too close to the surface, and I couldn't hold it in anymore. Oh, no...why isn't he saying anything??_

Kim wondered if she should begin to prepare herself to be sent back through the mirror.

William was dumbfounded. He never once stopped to consider that the track runs in _both_ directions, much less that a train would come from the opposite way.

William looked at Kim, her eyes wide and shimmering in the candlelight from her tears. They almost seemed to adopt a slight glow of their own. Her cheeks were streaked with tears. He felt her hands begin to tremble as they held his face.

The stereo sang out as the song went into its second chorus:

-Feel the calling of a Miracle-  
-In the presence of the Word-  
-Head into the headlights-  
-Don't turn from the rain-  
-There's a fire raging somewhere near-  
-Like a longtime friend who's seen it darker than ebony-

William suddenly felt two hands slap against his back, pushing him toward the passenger coach. Angelica's voice shouted above the noise, "Now, William! Now! _ALL ABOARD!!!_"

"Kim...I've loved you since the moment we met...even before, if that makes any se--"

He didn't get out the last of his sentence. "Oh-h-h my _G-OD,_" Kim cried out interrupting him, her voice breaking into open weeping as she leaped forward into his embrace, throwing her arms around him tightly.

William was swept into the torrent of Kim's emotion as she held him even tighter, one hand at the back of his head, curling and uncurling in his hair, the other clutching at his back. She kept repeating the words in his ear..."I love you William...I love you...I love you..."

William pulled back, looking at Kim as his hands reached for her face, gently wiping at her tears. "Please don't cry," he said.

"Only if you don't," Kim answered, smiling warmly. Only then did William notice the trails on his own face as she caressed his cheeks.

They took in each other's expressions, eyes searching back and forth, storing memories of the moment.

Then they slowly drew toward each other.

William's first thought was liquid silk as Kim's lips touched to his. Warm, moist, soft liquid vanilla silk flowing against his lips.

Kim took in a slow rush of air as she felt the first contact with Williams lips. Tingles of electricity coursed through her as he returned her kiss.

:::Guardia swings and _crushes_ this one to deep left center! The outfielder is chasing it back to the fence - he jumps at the wall - he can't get it! This one is _GONE!_:::

She pressed more into him, her hand gliding through the hair over his ear.

They parted slowly, lingeringly, remaining in each other's embrace. They were both still registering the flood of emotion and sensation which overtook them both this evening.

Kim was the first to speak, letting her fingers drift over his jawline. "William," she said, "This happened so fast...and yet it feels...right, you know?" He nodded. "Things might be a little...weird at first. Well, I don't mean _weird_...I mean...new. I've never been in love with a Flesher."

William smiled and laughed a little. "Well, it's not every day that a woman walks out of my mirror and captures my heart, you know." Kim giggled. "We're both here. We've come this far. We'll deal with whatever comes, as it comes," he said.

"Yeah," she smiled, agreeing.

"When did you know?" asked William. "When were you sure?"

"Space for me," replied Kim.

William laughed softly. "The medicine cabinet?"

"Yeah. That's when I knew that I couldn't deny that you saw me as a part of your life." She then looked a little puzzled. "You said 'even before we met'. When did you know?"

"Number One," he replied.

"What?"

"When you blew the dandilion at Duff Killigan and said 'Make a wish'. I don't know how or why...but that's when I knew."

"Oh!" Kim said, laughing. "The important part is that you knew. And now I know," she said, beaming. She then caught a glimpse out of the back kitchen window. "Look - it stopped snowing."

William brushed his finger lightly over her cheek. "Looks like it stopped raining, too," he said, kissing her upper lip softly.

Kim blushed, smiling. She then leaned forward into his arms. "William?" she purred into his ear. "Make a wish."

"I did," replied William. "Without knowing it, I made a wish--" He slid her back a little to look into her eyes. "--and look what happened."

"Awwww," she blushed again. "Then...do you mind if I make one?"

"By all means," he said.

Kim then leaned over to the end table - and with a puff of breath - blew out the candle.

11:06 PM.  
to be continued...


	19. It's All In The Cards

  
  
**19. It's All In The Cards (Anyone for Solitaire...?)**

Monday, April 28 

Kim quietly awoke to a bird singing outside the bedroom window. She raised slightly, peeking at the alarm.

7:13 AM.

She breathed a small sigh of relief that it would be over an hour before the alarm would splinter the placid setting of the apartment. Kim had come to savor the mornings when she woke before William. She would spend the time either cooking him a flavorful breakfast, bouncing around in email or the Web - or just lying there next to him, watching him as he slept and quietly thinking about how lucky she was as she basked in the closeness of his warmth.

Kim softly rose from the bed and padded to the window to look at the cardinal perched on a branch just outside the window. The morning sun was just starting to cast light on the window directly, preparing to greet the room with another sunny spring day. Kim moved to the side of the window, and brushed back the curtain with her fingers, closing her eyes for a moment and taking in the sun's warmth. She turned and looked back at the still-sleeping William, then back to the sun. _Not even close,_ she thought, letting the curtain slip from her fingers.

It had been nearly five months since the night Kim walked through William's mirror - more than three months longer than any other Cross had ever lasted - a record that caused her to be the talk of the entire Celler community. Even the Cross Agents remarked on the longevity. Not everyone had expressed their approval or shared in the mood, however. Ron had told Kim in an email how Bonnie was continually skeptical, often saying with jealous confidence that Kim was "living on borrowed Flesher time" - and that she was "waiting for the day Kim would crash and burn." Kim merely dismissed the displays from the mean-spirited cheerleader for the open jealousy they were, and she continued to celebrate each day that she awoke next to the man she had dared to open her heart to.

Kim walked softly back to the bed, looking at William...the peaceful expression on his face as he slept - and she went back to that night when they professed their feelings for each other. The night which set another precedent among Crosses - the first time a Celler had developed romantic feelings for a Flesher. It was the first time a Celler had ever kissed a Flesher or vice versa, let alone any other form of passionate physical contact between the two worlds.

Kim remembered walking on eggshells for the first week or so, worrying that she might do something to give William second thoughts about cultivating the relationship. She would be almost continually asking if he needed anything, and jumping at the first hint that he was about to do some task or chore, nearly waiting on him hand and foot. She then remembered the night William just said to her out of the blue that she didn't have to spend her time going out of her way to "kiss up to" or please him. He had sensed her trepidation and told her that, to him, for her to be there at all was miracle enough in itself...and that what he wanted most was for her to be a part of, rather than a slave to, his life...that this wasn't a "probationary period," where she might be sent back if she didn't see to his every whim.

William then told her that she was just as much there as he was - that he was taking every step she was in this new adventure - and that they should take each step as it comes - together. When he said that, she felt as if he had lowered her into a warm spring and washed away any of the initial fears she had about William regretting this decision.

Kim thought about when they discussed the night, which they came to refer to as "The Awakening" - and how William was without response for just that moment when she revealed her feelings before he did. He was sure that if anyone was to make such an admission it was him, and he had been working up to it when she blindsided him with her own confession.

Kim's reminiscence stuttered as the phone rang. She quickly picked it up, turning away so as not to disturb William. "Hello?" she said in a subdued voice.

"Hello?" the voice at the other end said. "Is this Kim? Good morning, it's David Morris. How are you?"

"Good morning David," Kim returned. "I'm fine," she said rather warmly, looking back to the bed.

"Did I wake you?"

"No, I got up a little while ago."

"Oh...good. Listen, I know it's a little early, but is William up yet? I need to discuss something with him."

Kim looked down, smiling. "Nooo, but I can change that if you'll hang on juuust a minute."

"Sure," said David.

Kim set the phone down on the bed and leaned over William, pressing her lips to hers. William stirred, then instinctively brought his arm up around her waist.

"Mmmm," he said in a seductive morning voice. "It's my favorite alarm."

Kim giggled. "Good morning to you too...you have a phone call."

Kim sat on the edge of the bed as William rose, his arm still around her. He picked up the phone. "Hello...hey David...no, not that early..." He looked at Kim. "I wish," he said softly. Her eyes widened a bit, and she slapped his knee lightly. "What's going on?" William continued. "Oh? 9:30...you got it...see you then." He clicked the "talk" button and tossed the phone to the bed, placing his other arm around Kim for another morning greeting.

"They want you in early?" she asked.

"Yeah," replied William. "Some sort of meeting."

"Nothing serious, I hope."

"I'm not quite sure," said William. "The last thing David said was to wear a suit - a good one." Kim looked a bit to the side for a moment. William added, "I wouldn't worry about it. I don't think they ask a person to wear a suit to a firing. If they were going to can me, they wouldn't care if I went in wearing what I am now."

Kim had to giggle at this, as William only had on a pair of hospital "scrub" pants as pajamas. "I hope you wouldn't be going much of anywhere dressed like _that_," she said, noting his bare chest. She then raised an eyebrow. "What was the 'I wish' thing?"

William snickered. "Oh, that," he said slyly. "David asked me if you wake me up every morning like that."

Kim blushed. "I'm not sure I want to think about what David thinks of me."

"David's single and lonely," laughed William. "Maybe you should write down Bonnie's number for me to give to him." They both laughed. "Besides," he added, "it couldn't compare to what I think of you." Kim slid into his embrace, kissing him softly. William punctuated the kiss with a soft moan against her lips. "And now," said William as they slid apart a bit, "I have to hit the shower." He cupped her chin in his hand, brushing his thumb over her silken lips, adding, "Alarm Girl," with a chuckle. He slid from the bed and started for the bathroom. "You can go back to sleep if you want," he said.

Kim slowly reclined onto the bed, extending her arms over her head in a stretch, then sliding them along the covers, turning her head to the side. She thought again about how lucky she was, and began again to recount her blessings as she drifted back to sleep.

8:46 AM.  
The next time Kim opened her eyes, she turned and looked at William straightening his tie in a corner of the mirror. He was dressed in a smart slate-grey suit with a white shirt. A beige topcoat was laid out at the end of the bed.

William was adjusting his cufflinks when he heard a soft wolf whistle behind him. He turned to Kim, who was lying on her side with her arm propping her head up. "Now I almost wish you weren't going," she grinned, looking him over. "How long do you think you'll be?"

"I have no way of knowing," William replied. "Depends on what they want me for. The only thing I can think of is having to do with the live voice line thing they're finally getting around to setting up. They might have a rep there from the phone company."

Kim's face widened into a playful smile. "Doesn't sound near as fun as what I'd want you for."

William walked to the bed and took her hands, pulling her to stand in front of him. "And just what might that be, Miss Possible?" he asked, slowly bending until their foreheads touched.

Kim drifted her fingers over the lapels of his jacket. "Warmth..." she said, moving her fingers to his tie, "Comfort..." she held the flat of his tie with one hand, giving the knot the slightest tug of mock adjustment, "Understanding...strength..." she tucked his tie into his jacket, "the love only you can give...and the occasional backgammon target." she giggled at the last, patting her hand flat against the breast of his jacket.

She then undid the button of his jacket and slid her hands around his waist. "Is there anything you might want me for....Mr. Hodge?" she asked.

"Will you still be here when I get back?"

"Yes..."

"Will you still love me, as much as you just said?"

"Unquestionably," she said. "Maybe even a little more."

"Then I have everything I could want," said William, brushing his fingers along her cheek.

Kim searched his eyes as her face spread into a warm smile.

"Oh - one more thing--" added William. "--a kiss goodbye."

She moved her arms over his shoulders, hands hanging at his neck, and moaned softly against his lips. "Yes, Mr. Hodge," she purred. "Please try to hurry back."

William slowly slid from Kim's embrace and reached for his topcoat. "If it's like I said, it shouldn't last long. If I'm not home by lunch, I'll give you a call. Hey, how about one of your fantastic salads for lunch?"

"Mmm, sounds good," she said. "Don't get too bored." she quipped as William opened the front door.

He took one step across the door sill and stopped for a second. "I'm already bored," he smiled back, and stepped out.

Kim laughed softly; then sighed, still smiling, and went to start a shower.

9:26 AM.  
William pushed open the large glass door leading to the Claims and Reconciliation Department and walked inside.

Dawn, the receptionist, immediately perked to his presence. "Good Morning, William. Isn't that weather great?"

"Morning Dawn," he replied, trying not to chuckle from the inside joke of greeting the slender Indonesian girl. "It's beautiful out." He continued down the hall, exchanging greetings along the way to David Morris's office.

People had watched William morph at the office over the months since early December. It was like he had awakened from an intersocial coma - he smiled a lot, he talked with people, knowing most of them by name. There were now fewer people in the office, yet productivity was up. Many people signed onto the telecommuting program when it opened after William's putting the system to an unintended test months ago.

"Hey William," called David Morris, coming from the break room with coffee. David was in his late 20's, about four inches shorter than William, with sandy blond hair that looked as if he put it on like a helmet in the mornings - never a hair out of place. David was an opportunist; always looking for that "angle" to give himself a pat on the back. "I'm glad I ran into you here," he said. "We're waiting in the conference room."

David always succeeded in keeping William just the slightest bit off-balance when it came to knowing where he stood with him; he kept much of his attitude from when he was in Sales - that "player's face." They had kept the schedule set with William coming to the office on a weekly basis to keep up with changes, but David had gotten quite good at coming up with some menial task or other pittance that he could have handled himself, but talked William into staying at least an hour longer than he had to. William was sure that these little things would put them on a sure collision course if he had to interact with David on a daily basis.

"So what's up this morning?" William asked, trying to probe as they walked down the hallway to the conference room.

"Sorry William," David replied. "You're a mushroom until we hit that door."

_Yep, David, I'm a mushroom,_ William thought..._and it's a shame that we mushrooms don't grow well under the brand of BS you shovel._

They arrived at the tall doors to the conference room. David motioned William to go in first. What greeted him stopped him in his tracks for a moment. He was preparing himself for a few suits from Admin, and maybe some people from the phone company.

Seated at the large burlwood table - were the six members of the Board of Regents.

William then felt a firm slap on his shoulder. "Look who I found," exclaimed David. William had no choice but to advance into the room as he felt David kneading the base of his neck.

Marcy Alvarez stood and pulled out the chair next to her for William to sit. "William, how are you," she said in a warm voice, extending her hand. "I haven't seen you for the longest time." The Monday that William came to David's office to sign the paperwork allowing him to work from home, Marcy stopped by while he was there. After confronting him about missing him at her party, she found out that he received no invitation. A quick check revealed a mix-up at the printers. She profusely apologized, telling him that, without his work in the department, she might not have advanced into her current position with the company.

As Marcy swept her arm to each member, they stood and shook William's hand. "William Hodge, I want you to meet Andrea Simmons...Don Fitzgerald...Cheryl Carter...Drake Howard...and the Chairman of the Board of Regents, Michael Hawkins." They all took a seat.

Marcy turned to him. "William," she said, "this meeting was called to discuss your future here at Meridian."

William started thinking about how quickly he would have to formulate a resume to send to his next potential employer.

Michael Hawkins opened a rather thick folder in front of him. "You've been with us about two years, is that right?"

"Two years next month, Sir."

Michael raised his hand a little at William. "It's Michael...please," he said, then continued. "As I'm sure you're aware, Meridian is one of the fastest-growing insurance companies in the country. We've always strived to be the cutting edge of insurance processing - the industry standard that other companies can be measured by. And to continue to grow at that rate, the company has remained in a dynamic state, always ready to change to meet those demands." He then motioned his hand to Cheryl.

"In keeping with that dynamic state, we are preparing to take the next step in those changes," she said, opening a folder of her own. "We're ready for a major restructuring of several departments." She looked into the folder for a moment. "Your work here has been notable--"

_Skip the ceremony,_ thought William. _Just say 'Your services are no longer required', and give me a second to put together a parting speech that will let me retain at least part of my dignity._

"--as Marcy here has brought to our attention," Cheryl continued. "Having worked with you in Claims and Rec, she knows first hand of your skills." She closed the folder and opened her attache case, pulling out a folder and sliding it across the table to William. He opened it to several papers with two columns, 'Present' and 'Projected'. He looked through them as Michael spoke again.

"What we're looking at, basically, is a consolidation of Claims and Rec, Fulfillment, Customer Service and Customer Finance - a streamlining, if you will, into a large coordinated department which will be known simply as Processing. Marcy has pointed out to us your organizational ability within Claims and Rec, especially with the way you present daily production reports to Los Angeles...and with her recommendation, we are confident that you would fulfill our needs in overseeing the formation and integration of this venture - and then heading the department once it is established."

Cheryl continued as Marcy started scribbling on a notepad. "There are still a lot of bumps to smooth over and a lot of details to work out," she said. "We want you to be on the inside with the development of the restructuring schedule. Marcy has had a lot of good things to say about you, and even other people within your department have remarked on how easy you are to work with and relate to - and that's a major point - being able to 'talk to the people' in a language they can understand, instead of being intimidated by a bunch of mucky-muck double-speak." She swept her hand to the rest of the Board who laughed softly, knowing the classic rift between Management, and the rank and file.

"We've worked up an offer package," said Marcy, folding the piece of paper she was writing on and handing it to William between two fingers, "This is, of course, a tentative base, and could expand, depending on how seamlessly the new department takes off."

William opened the paper, and felt his mouth go dry. The "base" was nearly four times his present salary. There were other benefits listed, including use of a company car and an option for stock. William looked up from the paper. There were six pairs of eyes on him...waiting.

"We want to announce the restructuring in July, and start the process on August 1st," said Cheryl. "Our goal is to break the bottle of champagne over the bow of the new department around the first of the year."

William could swear he felt a tumbleweed roll across his tongue as he reached for the water pitcher.

Marcy added, "David will be moving to Meridian West about the middle of May, to head the Sales department out of Denver. He'll help to get you settled in as the head of Claims and Rec in the interim. We'll announce that change on May 1st."

That was the clincher for William. No more mushroom potter shoveling at him. He looked over the faces trained on him - and turned to shake Marcy's hand firmly. The other Board members rose to do the same. "Welcome aboard," said Michael, shaking William's hand warmly with both of his. "From everything I've heard about you, I think this train will be right on time."

William was developing an affinity for trains - every one he boarded recently offered him exciting and rewarding destinations.

Michael shook William's hand again as everyone left the conference room. "There are some papers for you to sign after lunch," he said, and turned to disappear down the hall.

Marcy turned and gave William a light hug. "I know this is a lot to hit you with all at once," she said, "but when they asked me for suggestions on who to head the project...out of all the people in the department, your name was the only one that stood out." She smiled at him. "Of course, I can offer any help and support you might need...but I think you're the right one for this, and I'm all behind you."

"Thanks, Marcy," replied William, still a bit overwhelmed. "That means a lot to me."

They started walking down the hall. "We've got a little time to kill before they come back down with the paperwork," said Marcy. "Do you have any plans for lunch?"

"Ummm," stammered William, "I...need to make a call..."

"You can use my cell," said Marcy, reaching into her pocket.

William had to snicker, remembering the "celler phone" pun he made to Kim the other day. He dialed his house as he and Marcy walked in the parking garage toward her car.

10:48 AM.  
Kim picked up the phone. "Good morning, William Hodge residence."

"Wow," William chuckled, "that guy has the same name as me!"

Kim giggled. "Hiiiiii," she purred. "Still in the meeting?"

"Kind of. They're taking me to lunch...there will be more to do after that."

"Lunch? Oooo...guess I should hold your salad," Kim said. "Did you get an award or something?"

"You could say that," William said, smiling broadly. He then stopped. "Hang on a sec," he said. He cupped the phone and turned to Marcy. "Help and support?" he asked.

"Whatever you need, William," replied Marcy.

"Thank you...that request may come a lot sooner than you expect," he said, turning back to the phone. "Kim, I'm...going to be a little late tonight...not too bad."

"Sounds like quite a meeting," remarked Kim.

"Yeah. I'll tell you about it when I get home. Oh, and, I'm bringing dinner home, so we can give the kitchen the night off," he chuckled. "How does lobster sound?"

Even Marcy heard it through the phone as she was unlocking the car. "_LOBSTER!??_" shrieked Kim. "You know I'm all about seafood!"

"It's a date," said William.

"William?" Kim laughed softly. "I don't care if you're in a room full of people - I'm putting you on the spot." She then cuddled into the phone, "I love you, William," then giggled again.

William broke into a wide smile. "So not spot," he replied. "I love you, Kim." He then folded the phone and handed it to Marcy as he got into the car. He remembered what Cheryl had said at the meeting - 'Marcy has had a lot of good things to say about you, and even other people within your department have remarked on how easy you are to work with and relate to' - and realized that he had indeed undergone a change in how he presented himself and how he talked with people. It was such a contrast to the close-to-the-vest demeanor he kept until after that night when the warm light burst from his mirror - and into his life. He had made quite a few changes - all for the better - and he had Kim - and Angelica - to thank for all of them.

"Williammmm," said Marcy, nudging his arm and grinning. "David had told me a couple of times that you had someone in your life." She patted his arm. "You deserve it. I always said you just needed someone in your life...and from how you act now, compared with just a few months ago, I'd say I was right. Her name's Kim, did you say?"

"Yeah..." said William, drawing that out a bit. He had no idea of the dreamy look coming over his face.

"I'm glad for you...looks like she makes you happy," she said, turning the key.

"You...have no earthly idea," William smiled, pulling the door closed.

6:04 PM.  
Marcy's gold Honda Accord pulled up in front of William's apartment, and he got out, holding a folder and a large foil-covered plate.

"If I don't see you before the First, congratulations again, William," Marcy said.

"Well, thank you for recommending me so highly," replied William. "I'll try not to let you down."

"The thought never even entered my mind," she smiled. He edged the door closed with his elbow, and she pulled into the evening traffic.

William fumbled with the key, finally bumping the door open with his knee. Most of the lights in the apartment were off, and soft music was coming from the stereo. "Kim?" he called. He then noticed a soft glow moving in the bedroom. "Kim? Is that you?"

Kim appeared in the doorway of the bedroom. Her face was highlighted by the candle, which she had set on a small saucer, and her eyes flickered with the dance of the flame. She started down the hallway slowly, smiling and cupping her hand in front of the light. The vision took William back immediately to the night they gave their hearts to each other. "Good news deserves a candlelit dinner," said Kim in a soft voice. She set the candle on the small table in the kitchen, then greeted William just inside the living room.

"We're going to need more candles one day," he said, setting the plate and the folder on the breakfast nook, then slipping his arms around Kim's waist, "because my good news always seems to start the moment I walk in the door."

"Awwwww-mmm," Kim cooed, the last as they embraced and kissed. "Why Mr. Hodge...one would think you were trying to butter me up with that flattery."

"Nope," he replied. "The butter is for the lobster. The nice words are for you." he smiled warmly. "Now...let's eat this while it's hot, or we'll both be crabs the rest of the night after eating cold lobster."

Kim gave him another kiss, then sat at the table, centering the candle while William took two plates from the cupboard, placing a succulent lobster tail on each, and a steaming foil-wrapped baked potato. He split the butter sauce between the two meals, and set them on the table, then getting sour cream from the fridge.

William sat down to a rather sustained moan from Kim. "I just couldn't wait for you," she smiled, digging the small fork into her shellfish for another bite.

"It's that good?" he asked, taking a bite. "Mmmm, yes it is," he said. "This comes from D'Angelo's, down on 14th. I've never eaten there, but I heard a lot of good things. I'm glad they were true." He then took another bite. "You said good news deserves a candlelit dinner...well, a candlelit dinner deserves good company...but I had that before I even picked up the food."

"Awwww," Kim said. She then put down her fork and crossed her hands under her chin. "News - yes...your news," she said, listening with interest.

"Well," began William, "I found out they're going to be merging all the departments into one big one, starting in August. It should be good for the company and the employees."

"Wow," said Kim. "So why were you called to the meeting?"

"Remember I told you about Marcy? My former boss?" he said. She nodded. "Well...seems that Marcy suggested I be the one to oversee the project to bring the departments together."

Kim's eyes got very wide. "William, that's wonderful!" she said. "Maybe you should learn who's going to be the head of the new department. Think David will get it?"

William laughed. "Nooooo, I don't think so. David is being transferred to Denver."

"Oh!" Kim giggled. "Well, maybe you can get Marcy to tell you who they're thinking about. Might be an inside track on your career somewhere? I mean, with the way you helped Marcy and all..."

William tried to stop himself from laughing. "I'm already way ahead of you. I already know who it is."

"Know him at all?"

"Very well," said William, taking a bite of his potato.

"Maybe you can arrange a dinner with him some night, and get in good with him."

William looked at Kim slyly. "Heh. You already are."

Kim's jaw dropped - then she erupted from the chair, throwing her arms around him. "No-_WAY,_" she exclaimed. "William, that's fantastic! Marcy recommended you for this? She remembered your ability! Oh baby, I'm so proud of you!" She peppered his cheek with kisses, ending with a long kiss on the mouth.

"You should be proud," William said as they parted lips. "I have you to thank for it."

Kim looked at him quizzically. "What...I didn't have anything to do with it," she said. "Marcy was the one who--"

"--who recommended me for the position," he finished. "But without you, it wouldn't have happened."

Kim motioned William to turn his seat so she could sit on his lap. "I'm...I'm not sure I understand," she said.

William fixed his gaze into Kim's eyes. "Kim," he started, "Both Marcy and several other people at work have noticed a...change in me in the last few months. They've said I'm...more friendly, more open...more...alive...than they've seen me in the whole time I've worked there. I've even noticed it myself, compared to the way I used to be. Some people have said it's like I've awakened from a deep sleep or something. Remember, Kim? The 'Awakening'?" Kim nodded.

William continued. "You've awakened me, Kim...just by being here. Ever since the night you came through my mirror, out of that blinding light...and into my life. Remember when you told me I was your light, Kim?" She nodded again. "You've been my light, too. You show me that light every time you walk into a room...every time you look at me...every time you tell me you love me. You have breathed that light into every part of me...and I've been aglow with it ever since."

"William..." said Kim, "you are just too sweet--" She was cut short, choking back a sob. "--and I do love you."

"Do you remember at first, when you wanted to do everything to please me?" She nodded again, slowly. "Do you remember when I said that you didn't have to? That we were taking these steps together?" Another nod.

"Kim...when you first came through my mirror...I called you a miracle. I've come to learn that's not entirely true...you are more than that. You are a gift, Kim. You've been a gift of life to me...by bringing me the gift of your life. You've been a gift of love to me...by showing me the gift of your love. And by doing all these things, you've changed me - and other people have seen that change..."

Kim softly caressed William's cheek as he spoke. William brought his own hand to do the same along Kim's jawline. "When you look at me...your smile is my sunrise...when you kiss me...the touch of your lips is my sunset...when you hold me...your embrace is the warm glow of a summer's evening."

"William--"

"Kim...the world has seen your light...your life...your love...through me. And now I want to show the world why I have that light...that life...that love...this gift...and just like all the steps we've taken...take this step with me, Kim." He looked down at his left hand, which he turned palm up, uncurling his fingers, and exposing a small black velvet box. "Kim, I want to show the world the light," he said, opening the box, "that is Kim Possible...but should be Kim Hodge."

Inside the box, nestled in the velvet - a 1/2-carat diamond solitaire, set on a ring of platinum.

Kim slowly put her now-trembling hands to her mouth, a long, slow wavering gasp coming from her, her eyes becoming liquid.

William took the ring from the box, and reached for Kim's left hand, lowering it. He positioned the ring at the tip of her third finger. "Kim...will you give me the immeasurable honor...?"

The first time, she just mouthed the word - "Yes" - William eased it onto her hand. As it slid into place, she managed a whisper - "Yes" - and her fingers then curled around his. "Yes"

She repeated her answer through increasing tears of joy, folding her arms around him in a tight embrace.

Thursday, May 1 

William's promotion to head of the Claims and Reconciliation Department was made shortly after 9 AM with a public presentation, which was met with applause of approval from the department. The rest of the day William spent in his new office, calling people in on an individual basis to ask their opinions on how things could run smoother.

At the end of the day, it was announced that there was an envelope in everyone's mailbox. What they retrieved was a white embroidered envelope, with a card inside:

Meridian Insurance Company  
Is Pleased To Announce  
The Wedding   
Of  
Kimberly Ann Possible  
And  
William Allen Hodge  
to be held at  
Eastgate Non-Denominational Church  
5211 Eastgate Drive  
Saturday, June 7th  
at 5:00 PM.

to be continued...


	20. The Unveiling

**20. The Unveiling ("I'm not Jewish, but...")**

Eastgate Non-Denomination Church  
June 7th  
4:58 PM.  
The dressing room door opened, and a church assistant leaned in. "It's time, Mr. Hodge," he said. "You should take your place. Everyone is seated."

William continued to fidget with his tie. "I've never worn a bow tie before," he said, adjusting. "I can't get it to sit just right."

"Let me take a look," the assistant offered. He touched it here and there, then stepped back. "It looks fine, Mr. Hodge."

William ran the lint roller over his tuxedo again, and took one last turn to the mirror. His tall frame was perfect for the classic long-tail black tux he chose. The fronts of the lapels were covered in silver silk, with a thin stripe at the end of each sleeve, and down the seam of the pants.

William then turned to the assistant, spreading his arms for presentation. "Am I ready?"

"I'd say you are," replied the assistant. "I'm especially likin' the cufflinks."

William wore his father's cufflinks - each a six-sided emerald set in a square base made of pearl. They were only worn once - on the day when William's father and mother were wed. "They match her eyes," he said.

William gave the sleeves of his tux one last reassuring tug. "I'm confused now about the weding night," he said. "I'm not sure if the intensity is from passion or from finally getting out of this monkey suit."

The assistant couldn't help but laugh. "I'd say you're more than ready, Mr. Hodge." He took the doorknob, motioning his other hand. "Shall we?"

William walked through the doorway of the anteroom into the chapel. If the whole concept of getting married at all, much less to the woman from inside the box was still a bit surreal for him, this scene certainly added to it. The room was enormous, nearly as wide as it was long. William thought for a moment about Kim being brought to the altar on a cart. The walls themselves were over 20 feet tall, gray and alternated with large tapestries on a background of royal blue, and intricate lead glass windows in a rainbow of colors. The ceiling was a deep peach color, soaring to over 60 feet above the floor, with huge beams every 20 feet or so. The floor was covered in a rich carpet to match the tapestries, and the altar itself looked as if it had been carved from a single huge piece of cherry wood. It seemed that there were candles on every horizontal surface, which gave the entire front of the chapel its own quiet mystical glow.

An organ from the upper deck softly wafted through the room, adding to the expansive ambience.

Even with over 300 people, the pews were barely half-filled. The entire staff from his department had attended, along with some of the admins, and the entire Board of Regents sat along the front row. Marcy had come through with her promise of "help and support" - William had made a deal to forego his stock options for three years, and just gave Marcy the reins in setting up the wedding preparations. Her level of "help" had gone off the scale, he thought. The only points Marcy questioned at all were the fact that there were no preparations for a best man or bridal procession - it was to be just he and Kim before the minister. William had hoped Marcy would understand why shortly.

As he walked along the front railing, he noticed a small white sphere at the end of one of the rows of candles. This was the only stipulation Kim had set forth as part of the arrangements; a webcam to broadcast the ceremony to a network Wade had set up, so the entire Celler community could witness the event.

William walked to the front of the chapel, just off right-center of the aisle and took his place to await his bride. He turned to the minister, who almost reminded William of James Earl Jones with a beard. Darius Edwards had a soothing presence, which proved useful when he became the only other Flesher besides William to meet Kim, coming to their apartment to go over details of the ceremony. He gave a reassuring smile to William, who was still taking in the detail of the setting, letting himself be immersed in it. He stood with one hand clasped over the other.

The hall was suddenly filled with a rich flourish of tones as the organ's volume increased, singing out the first notes of the Wedding March. The throng of guests rose, and turned to face the tall double doors at the back of the hall.

5:07 PM.  
As the organ caroled the announcement of Kim's entrance, the attendants reached for the handles of the doors. "That's your cue," one of them said.

"Just onnnne second," Kim wavered nervously. Even after the talk with the minister, Kim was still full of butterflies over this manner of "unveiling" to the Flesher world. William didn't do much to calm her fears, as he told her of the tradition that it would be bad luck if the groom were to see the bride before the wedding, and stayed at the local YMCA that night. He had even arranged that a separate car be called to take her to the church. Her teasing response was to keep her choice of wedding dress secret from William until the day of their ceremony, even ordering it online and being careful to cover her tracks to the site. She finally set her resolve and told William that she didn't care if the guests were on fire - that she would walk through it to stand beside him at the other end. Kim had worn her veil since leaving the apartment for the ride.

She checked herself from head to toe, sure that she saw many more wrinkles in her dress than anyone else would; she smoothed her veil one last time. "Okay," she nodded. The attendants pulled the doors open wide.

Kim instantly praised her decision on a light salad for lunch. The anticipation before meeting with the minister was apprehension enough; now there were over 300 pair of eyes focused on her every move. She steeled her gaze to the floor a few feet in front of her and took a deep breath. "Here we go, Kim," she said under her breath, taking the first halting step, "Straight up the middle."

William was transfixed on his bride-to-be as she seemed to float slowly down the aisle. She wore a flowing gown of a silvery satin which was drawn in at her waist, blossoming to nearly six feet in diameter as it reached her feet. It was graced throughout with streams of white lace and chiffon. Her veil was lined with the same lace, and her tiara was intertwined with the gold strings from the box and scroll.

William made out her face as she neared the front of the aisle, and she didn't lift her eyes until she was standing next to him. "Hi," she whispered, her expression lightening a bit. "I'm glad you're here."

"I wouldn't miss this for the world," replied Wiliam, taking her arm. They walked the last few steps to stand in front of the minister. There was a microphone over their heads, so all could hear. Minister Edwards opened his book, and began to speak to the guests in a soft but authoritative voice.

"Good afternoon! We are gathered here today, not to witness the beginning of what will be, but rather what already is! We do not create this marriage, because we cannot. We can and do, however, celebrate with William and Kimberly and their friends the wondrous and joyful occurrence that has already taken place in their lives. So let the ceremony begin!" He looked at the couple. "William and Kimberly, would you please join hands and face me?"

William could feel the added warmth of Kim's emotion as she slipped her hands into his, and they clasped. The minister smiled slightly; then looked to the guests again and continued.

"Marriage is a supreme sharing of experience, and an adventure in the most intimate of human relationships. It is the joyous union of two people whose comradeship and mutual understanding have flowered in romance. Today, William and Kimberly proclaim their love and commitment to the world, and we gather here to rejoice, with and for them, in the new life they now undertake together. The joy we feel now is a solemn joy, because the act of marriage has many consequences, both social and personal. Marriage requires 'love,' a word we often use with vagueness and sentimentality. We may assume that love is some rare and mystical event, when in fact it is our natural state of being."

"So what do we mean by 'love'? When we love, we see things other people do not see. We see beneath the surface, to the qualities which make our beloved special and unique. To see with loving eyes, is to know inner beauty . And to be loved is to be seen, and known, as we are known to no other. One who loves us, gives us a unique gift; a piece of ourselves, but a piece that only they could give us. We who love, can look at each other's life and say, 'I touched his life,' or, 'I touched her life,' just as an artist might say, 'I touched this canvas.' 'Those brushstrokes in the comer of this magnificent mural, those are mine. I was a part of this life, and it is a part of me.' Marriage is to belong to each other through a unique and diverse collaboration, like two threads crossing in different directions, yet weaving one tapestry together."

Kim looked to William as the minister spoke. He looked at her as well - and the combination of Minister Edwards' voice, and William's warm eyes started to act as a calming effect. Her hand now barely trembled in William's as the minister continued with the ceremony.

"Through this co-operation, we give ourselves, our lives and love. into the hands of the one we love. We do so trustingly and generously. And so, each of us receives a gift; the life and love of the other. We receive this gift, not only from the one we love, but also from the parents who brought us into the world, and from our friends and families as well. And so as William and Kimberly's friends and family, we are here to share with them this joy and hope, and to see them off on the path they will walk together. May it be a path of blessedness, bright with flowers of prosperity and spiritual awakening; a path of ever deepening, ever broadening love that they will travel, arm in arm. throughout eternity."

"William and Kimberly, this celebration is the outward token of your sacred and inward union of hearts, which the church and temple may bless, and the state make legal, but which neither state nor church can create nor annul. It is a union created by your loving purpose and kept by your abiding will. It is in this spirit and for this purpose that you have come here to be joined together."

William could feel Kim's grip tighten somewhat as the minister turned to William, beginning to recite the vows.

"William, will you have this woman to be thy wedded wife, to live together in marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, and honor her, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, so long as you both shall live?"

William slipped his fingers between Kim's to interlock them, as if to further show his commitment. He looked into her eyes, thinking of all his dreams realized - the miracle that came through his mirror and became his gift of life - and said, "I will."

The minister then turned to Kim. "Kimberly, will you have this man to be thy wedded husband, to live together in marriage? Will you love him, comfort him. and honor him, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, so long as you both shall live?"

Kim looked into the eyes of the man whom she had Crossed to - the man who had taken her to places - and to emotional highs - that she had never even dreamed could even be within her reach - and now she was living them with the man whom she loved - and so deeply loved her. She squeezed William's hand and said, "I soooo will." There was a hush of laughter from the guests at this.

The minister spoke. "William and Kimberly have chosen their own added vows, to further proclaim and affirm to us all their love for one another. They have chosen the words to a song, 'Anything is Possible,' by Will Young." With this, Kim and William faced each other, hands still warmly locked, and recited, alternating, each with their eyes locked to the other's;

Kim: "I never thought I could be feeling this way...Standing here in front of you this perfect day...It's hard to imagine where tomorrow will lead...I'll keep this memory in my heart for eternity."

William: "Even through the rain I kept my faith...The will to follow through...And I never lost the strength within...And it's all because of you."

Kim: "I'm flying high like the wind...Reaching the impossible, I'll never doubt again...I'm flying high, because your love has made me see that anything is possible - possible because you believe in me."

William: "In a world full of strangers, you were my saving grace...You showed me I was not alone - alone in this place...I never believed it that a dream can come true, but If anyone has changed my mind then surely it is you."

They spoke the last together. "I'm flying high like the wind, reaching the impossible...I'll never doubt again...I'm flying high, because your love has made me see that anything is possible - possible - because you believe in me."

The minister reached to his pocket and produced a box containing their wedding bands side-by-side, platinum to match Kim's engagement ring. He spoke as he offered the box, and each took their respective bands. "Traditionally, the passage to the status of husband and wife is marked by the exchange of rings. These rings are a symbol of the unbroken circle of love. Love freely given has no beginning and no end, no giver and no receiver for each is the giver and each is the receiver. May these rings always remind you of the vows you have taken."

Kim took William's hand first, sliding the band onto his finger, then looking into his eyes, her own showing just the beginning of pooling. _The next step,_ she thought...together. "With this ring, I thee wed."

William turned Kim's hand, gliding her band onto her finger until it nestled into place next to her other ring. _The next step,_ he thought..._and you and I took it together._ "With this ring, I thee wed."

"William and Kimberly," the minister continued, "Remember to treat both yourself and each other with respect, and remind yourselves often of what brought you together."

"Forever" crossed both of their minds.

The minister now spoke in a louder, more authoritative tone. "Inasmuch as you have consented together in this ceremony to live in wedlock and have sealed your vows in the presence of this company and by the giving of these rings, it gives me great pleasure to pronounce that you are Husband and Wife. William, you may now kiss your new bride."

William could feel Kim tense as he slipped his hands from hers, a mix of joy and apprehension taking over. He captured a corner of her veil between two fingers of each hand, and lifted it slowly to drape over her tiara.

A hushed gasp rippled through the hall as people got a first look at Kim's face. Kim's expression immediately turned to one of worry as a buzz of whispers began to flow. Kim tried to form her mouth to say "William" as a tear escaped to her cheek. William took her face into his hands, trying to reassure her against whatever might happen. "So not, Kim," he said as he sent the tear away with his thumb, and slowly pressed his lips to hers.

Minister Edwards added to that reassurance as they parted, placing a hand warmly on each of their shoulders and turning them to the crowd. "Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my privilege to be the first to present Mr. William Allen Hodge and Mrs. Kimberly Ann Hodge."

The silence that greeted them only lasted a couple of seconds - then was broken by a singular applause--

Marcy.

She slowly rose to her feet, continuing to clap. Hers was joined by another from near the back of the crowd. Then another. And another. The applause grew steadily, building as more and more people stood.

William looked at Kim, whose expression was spreading into a warm smile, her eyes now beginning to sparkle. "I think we're a hit," he said, again finding her hand.

"I just can't put into words how much I love you, Mr. Hodge."

"Well, you have the rest of your life to do it...Mrs. Hodge," replied William.

Minister Edwards tried to announce above the din of the applause, "There is a short reception ceremony in the basement of the church...if we can get the happy couple on their way." He smiled at them, giving a slight "shoo" motion with his hands. He then gave the "rolling along" motion to the upper deck, and the organ rang out with traditional recessional music.

"I think this is our theme song," said William. "Shall we?"

"Yeah," Kim responded as they took the short steps from the altar.

They proceeded down the aisle as people continued to applaud. One man from the department who had worked with William for over a year raised his hand to greet him as they passed by. "Attaboy, William," he said, meeting William's hand with a loud slap. A woman from Kim's side of the aisle called to her, "Good catch, Kim!" and winked. Kim turned to William and laughed, throwing her arms around his waist.

A glint caught William's eye. He called Kim's attention to the upper deck. A blurry figure was waving to them.

Angelica.

She was doing the "Cabbage Patch" dance, swinging her arms. She then shot them the "OK" sign and winked, pointing at them both.

Kim and William looked at each other for a second - then nodded. They hurried down the aisle and through the doors.

6:00 PM.  
They burst through the doors to the reception hall. Kim suddenly leaped on William's back, shouting, "I did it! We did it!"

William laughed, grabbing one of her legs and steadying himself. "Wasn't quite as bad as you thought, huh?"

"I was worried at first," she said, dropping back to her feet. "When those doors opened, I was like, oh my _GOD,_ look at all these _PEOPLE!_ I almost felt like sprinting down that aisle so I could hold you! And after you lifted that veil, I could have died!"

"Boy, that would have been awkward," William laughed.

Kim slipped the tiara from her hair, shaking out her crimson mane. "William, we're married!" she said, sliding into his arms. "We've made history! And it was on the webcam! Bonnie is going _NUTS_ right now!"

William suddenly took on a look of mock disgust. "Well I hope _THAT'S_ not the reason you married me."

Kim pulled him closer. "Soooooo _NOT,_ Mr. Hodge," she said, leaning up for a kiss.

"Hey hey, you two...you'll have plenty of time for that on the honeymoon." Marcy quickly walked toward them, giving William a hug. "That was beautiful," she said. "Just beautiful." She turned to Kim, giving her a hug as well. "Kim, I can just tell that you two will be so happy." She slid back, offering her hand. "I'm Marcy Alvarez."

Kim took her hand warmly, shaking with both of hers. "You're William's former boss. I've heard nothing but good about you from him."

"And you're Kim Possible," said Marcy. "I know you from your show, but I never thought...well...you know...that I'd get to _meet_ you."

"Well, you have the first part right," Kim replied, pointing at William. She and Marcy both laughed and hugged again.

"Kim, don't you leave without seeing me first," said Marcy, who turned and started for the refreshment table as more guests began to filter in.

"Wonder what that was about," commented William.

Kim didn't get much chance to reply. A woman walked up, introducing herself. "Hi Kim. I'm Mary Drexel. I work with William. Is it...okay if I ask you a question?"

A couple other people came over, wanting to hear the answer. Others came by originally intending to offer their congratulations, but stayed for the conversation.

William leaned to Kim. "Looks like you might have a new fan club," he said. "I'll stay close in case it gets too intense."

"Good idea," said Kim. "I feel okay with it right now, but I might need you for rescue."

William felt a hand pulling at his arm. He turned around.

David Morris had flown in for the wedding. He shook William's hand firmly. "Hi William. Congrats, buddy."

"Thanks," replied William, trying to remain gracious while still keeping an eye on his bride, who was starting to look like a press secretary.

"William, you weren't kidding when you said she looks as good as she sounds," continued David, pulling William's attention back to him. "She looks pretty good, but...I have to ask...err...what...is she?"

William thought for a moment, not in the mood for a string of questions from the slick salesman, feeling much more at ease after his departure from the office. He wanted to give an answer that would disarm him. William looked him in the eye. "She's my wife, David," he responded. "Surely someone as comprehensive as yourself can see that."

David was caught off-guard for a moment by his answer. "She's...unique," he said. "Tell me this...is she Asian? She has an...interesting face."

William was beginning to grow an instant disdain for where this line of questioning might go. He then remembered how many of the cels for the shows were colored by sending them to studios in the Far East. "Yeah...partly," he answered.

William felt himself being pulled in another direction to face Michael Hawkins, who was shaking his hand. "William, that was a wonderful ceremony," he said. "I wish you luck and good fortune in your new venture. She's a beautiful woman. You make such a wonderful couple."

William could only manage a "Thank you," continuing to shake Michael's hand. "Excuse me a moment," Michael said. "I want to get something for the toast." He started to make his way to the wet bar.

William turned to continue his verbal swordfight with David. He had apparently had his fill, having gone to the other side of the room.

William then turned to Kim as he heard Marcy's voice. "People, please. I'm sure Kim has enough on her plate without getting the third degree. Give her a break," she smiled, taking Kim's hand and leading her out of the gathering. Kim mouthed the words "Thank you" to Marcy, and looked back to William, waving her hand in front of her face and hanging her tongue out a bit. _Thank you Marcy,_ he thought. He started through the crowd for the refreshment table to find something for them to drink.

He turned around with two glasses in hand as Kim rushed up to him, nearly breathless. "William, you're not going to believe this." William offered her one of the glasses as she spoke. "After Marcy saved me from the Q-A session, we started to talk. She _believes_, William! We got to talking about Cellers, and she said she would love to meet one!"

"Wow," said William. "Guess we can check the list for her name, too."

"I asked her innocently that if she had the chance, who she might want to meet. Get this," she said, starting to giggle. "Race Bannon from Jonny Quest."

William chuckled. "Might make a cute couple."

"That's just half of it," started Kim, but was cut short by a loud voice.

"May I have your attention," Michael shouted from the center of the room, motioning Kim and William toward him. "Everyone get a drink." They joined Michael as he raised his glass. "I wish to be the first to propose a toast to the happy couple. May their journey be long and full of wonderment and surprise."

Kim and William caught each other starting the phrase, "You have no earthly idea." They both laughed at this as a wave of "Cheers" circulated through the guests. Kim looked at her glass for a moment, then at William. "Sparkling apple juice," he said. "Drink up."

Kim's expression spread into a warm smile as they joined in the toast. "Thank you, Mr. Hawkins," she said. "I--we really app- appre- _nnn-ngkkk_."

About 25 people around them said "Bless you" simultaneously - then laughed. Kim looked at William, blushing as she held her finger under her nose.

William smiled at her. "Did I mention the apple juice was carbonated?" he smirked. Then, "What did you start to tell me before?"

Kim reached into the strap of her dress and pulled out a business card. "Check this out," she started to say rather excitedly. "Marcy gave me her card. She wants me to come to Meridian after the honeymoon for a skills test. She offered me a _job,_ William!"

"That's great! She must really like you," said William. Then he got a rather devilish grin. "Kim? Have you ever heard the term, 'nooner'?"

Kim slapped his arm, laughing. "Don't you turn evil on me, Mr. Hodge."

"Not me," he replied. "Mrs. Hodge."

Kim melted into a wide smile, slipping her arms around his neck. "William," she started, "this has gone way better than I thought it would...but all this attention is wearing me out. Shouldn't we be leaving soon?"

"Sure," he said, taking her hand. "We're supposed to 'escape' at some point anyway."

"I like that idea," said Kim. "Lead the way."

They walked out of the doors to the church. One of the attendants said, "Congratulations again, Mr. and Mrs. Hodge. Your car is waiting."

"Mmmm, I like the sound of that," William said. Kim nodded in agreement, her face now aglow. Then, "A car?"

"Must have been sent by the company," the attendant pointed to the street. A gleaming silver stretch limousine sat at the curb. They both mouthed the word "Wow" and started for the vehicle.

William stopped about halfway down the walk. "Ohhh man, I almost forgot," he said. Kim looked at him with a "Hm?"

William dug into the pocket of his tux. "I'm not Jewish," he said, "but this is the most important part of the ceremony." He pulled his hand out of his pocket, turning his palm up.

The vial. Without the cap.

Kim gasped. "You're gonna--" she stammered.

"As per Wade's instructions from his report," said William, smiling widely. Kim held her hands to her mouth as William placed the vial on the ground. "Just like the rings," he started, "Just like my love for you, Kim...this is just part of Forever."

Kim nodded quickly, a tear appearing.

"Welcome to Forever, Kim," he said, bringing his foot down on the crystal, shattering it under his shoe.

Kim threw her arms around him. "_YES!_" she shouted. They continued to the limousine and got inside as an attendant held open the door.

As the door slammed shut, the privacy screen lowered. A short brunette in a driver's cap turned around toward the couple. "Where to, you two?" she grinned.

"_MISTY!!!_" Kim screamed, and leaped forward from the seat, hugging her tightly.

"How are ya, Kiddo?" Misty said. "That was quite the ceremony. I loved it."

"I wasn't expecting you here! I'm so glad!" Kim said excitedly, continuing to embrace the woman. She turned back to William. "William, I'd like you to meet Misty Visione'. She's another Cross Agent."

Misty slipped an arm from around Kim and shook his hand. "William, it's my pleasure," she said. "This whole thing has been quite a ride. We never thought something like this would ever happen...and we couldn't be happier that it did. Everyone is so happy for you and for Kim-- err," She stopped for a second. "What do I call you now, Kim? Kim Hodge-Possible? Kim Possible-Hodge?"

"Hodge-Podge" smirked William.

Both women erupted into laughter. "Is he always like this?" said Misty.

"Mostly," Kim replied with an open smile. "But most of all when it counts."

"Excellent," Misty said. "You rock, William."

"See?" Kim broke in. "That's what I said!" They all laughed.

"Well, I'm here to take you two anywhere you want to go." Misty said, turning the key to the car. The throaty V-8 jumped to life.

"The airport," said William. "I have an espresso to finish."

Kim looked at William rather strangely. "Surely you could find a better place than the airport to have an espresso."

William shook his head slowly, smiling, and reaching into the inside pocket of his tuxedo. He pulled out some papers.

Round-trip tickets to Paris - and a two-week stay - at the Eden Hotel in Nice, on the French Riviera.

Kim screamed again and jumped into William's arms. "You rock with _subwoofers,_ Mr. Hodge!" she exclaimed.

"And you're the reason," added William. He then pointed forward. "Drive on, Misty," he said. "We have a honeymoon to get to."

"Yes, _SIR,_" Misty grinned, hitting the button to raise the privacy screen.

The limousine pulled from the curb, a large "JUST MARRIED" sign on the back. A string of cans trailed from the bumper - and one pair of 100,000-mile tennis shoes.

The license plate was also silver. It read, in dark green letters - "CELLER 1"

(roll end credits)   
(start closing music)

One more compromise I won't be making  
One more easy way out I won't be taking  
So many chances don't come twice  
So many eyes are made of ice  
One more cheating hand I won't be shaking

One more substitute I won't be trying  
One more piece of the rock that I'm not buying  
So many times we stand and fight  
So many reasons can't be right  
One more simple truth I'm not denying

Too many lonely hearts in the real world  
Too many lonely nights in the real world  
Too many fools who don't think twice  
Too many ways to pay the price  
Don't wanna live my life in the real world

One more sacrifice I won't be making  
One more golden rule I won't be breaking  
No one to let me state my case  
No one to tell me to my face  
One more sweet suprise I won't be faking

Too many lonely hearts in the real world  
Too many lonely nights in the real world  
Too many bridges you can burn  
Too many tables you can't turn  
Don't wanna live my life in the real world

Too many lonely hearts in the real world  
Too many lonely nights in the real world  
Too many games that I can't play  
Too many windmills in my way  
Don't wanna live in the real world

"In The Real World"

- The Alan Parsons Project - "Stereotomy"

The End


End file.
